Always Somewhere
by BehindTheWallOfSleep
Summary: This story takes place, when all the main characters are in their 20s. The major characters focused on are Tommy, Dil, Angelica, and Kimi. For those who want some romance, there will be some. Of the characters mentioned above, it will be Tommy and Kimi, but there will be some others as well. If anything, this story focuses on everyday life that every person faces.
1. Discussing the Gang

******Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! This is the first time I have written a story like this. One thing that I wanted to do was to try and keep everything as real as reality. Therefore, Tommy has a hair color that the average person has, and not purple. Do be kind for me, since this is my first time writing.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter I**

Thomas 'Tommy' Pickles, at 24, closed his cell phone with perhaps the brightest smile he had displayed, since arriving in Los Angeles. After graduating with a degree in film from the University of California, the man with the auburn hair and green eyes decided to set those eyes on Hollywood. But the movie industry is a deadly business. Tommy had directed a few films, but they were films with very low budgets and with scripts that already had the nails in the coffin before the first camera started rolling. Still, Tommy did his best. His films, while not 'blockbusters', did produce a profit. Tommy was not a millionaire, but he was able to rent a modest apartment in LA. Yet, the phone call he just received, made Tommy feel that things were going to pick up for him. Tommy's agent told him that he had been able to secure a deal where Tommy would be the director of an upcoming film about the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, Nicholas and Alexandria. _"That's a script I can work with,"_ thought Tommy.

Within a few minutes after Tommy closed his cell phone, it rang once again. "I wonder who this could be?"

The name on the caller ID was his 26 year-old blonde hair-blue eyed cousin, Angelica Pickles.

"Hello?" answered Tommy.

The relationship between Tommy and Angelica changed as the two became older. When they were younger, the two had a lukewarm relationship. Angelica was the 'spoiled brat', who was often disrespectful to her younger cousins and their friends. But as they grew older, they matured; and Angelica was always grateful, especially when everyone came to her during one of the low points of her life. About three years ago, Angelica found herself to be pregnant. At first, she was happy. Angelica thought that she would settle into a happy life as a wife and mother. Instead, Angelica caught the father of her baby with another woman. The incident quickly ended their relationship. Angelica decided she wanted nothing to do with Seth, the father of her baby. Likewise, when the child was born nearly two years ago—a boy whom she named Ian Louis Pickles—Angelica received no child support and no contact from Seth. But Angelica did not pursue him. She did not need him. During her pregnancy and birth of her firstborn child, Angelica received plenty of support from her cousins, Tommy and Dil; and from those she had known since childhood: Phil, Lil, Chuckie, Susie, and Kimi. Angelica also received additional help from her aunt and uncle, Stu and Didi Pickles. All of them encouraged Angelica to continue to work on her MBA, which she did. By giving encouragement, and offering to babysit for Ian, not only was Angelica able to earn her degree, but she was also able to receive a job as an executive in her mother's company, Pilot, a company which markets anything that might be profitable. Ironically, the people whom Angelica received very little help from were her parents, Charlotte and Drew Pickles. They resented the fact that Angelica became pregnant outside of marriage.

"Hi, Tommy," responded Angelica. "How are you?"

"Quite good actually, and you?"

"Pretty good—the reason why I'm calling you has to do with the invitation that you should have received about a month ago."

"I take it that you mean the one about Ian's second birthday?"

"Yes, I haven't heard back from you, so I wondered if you were coming?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss my little cousin's second birthday. In fact, I just bought him a gift."

"Really? That's great! He hasn't seen you since May."

"Yeah, it's been five months. So who's going to be there?"

"Your mom and dad, my mom and dad…"

"Has your relationship with Uncle Drew and Aunt Charlotte improved any?"

"Not really, but they're Ian's grandparents, and I want them to be involved with his life—just like we had our Grandpa Lou and Grandma Lulu."

_"Grandpa Lou,"_ thought Tommy. _"I sure do miss him. He passed away about four years ago. Grandma Lulu joined him two years after that."_ Of Tommy's grandparents, only his maternal grandmother was left.

"I asked about having your grandmother, Minka, come, but I'm not sure if she'll be able to," continued Angelica. "If not, I'll take Ian sometime to see her."

Tommy nodded. "Who else is coming?

"A few of Ian's friends from daycare, and, of course, the rest of the gang."

_"The rest of the gang,"_ thought Tommy. "Been a while since I've seen them."

"Well, I know Dil came out to visit you in LA."

Tommy smiled. Thinking of his young red hair-blue eyed brother Dylan, or 'Dil' as he was always called, always made Tommy smile. When they were kids, Dil always had an interest in aliens, but that interest changed, when Dil became a teenager. At the age of 14, Dil got his first real job as a dishwasher at a 'Ma and Pop' restaurant. The cook at this restaurant was a major fan of heavy metal music, and he shared his love of that music with Dil. Dil embraced the heavy metal culture for all it was worth. Now at 22, Dil—besides being a college student—was the lead singer of a power metal band he started with some friends he met in clubs called Dark Stairway.

"Yeah, it was a little odd, when Dil came out to visit me."

"Well, it is Dil," Angelica said with a smile.

Tommy chuckled. "That's true. What was odd about our encounter is that Dil wanted to visit Dio's grave—Ronnie James Dio's grave, the famous metal musician."

"I know who he is. Dil's worn some of Dio's band shirts around me."

"Well, we went to the grave, but the way Dil was treating it, it felt as though we were on some type of pilgrimage—like we were visiting a saint's shrine. And then Dil took out his iPhone, and started playing some of Dio's music at the grave site."

Angelica chuckled. "You know he's about to graduate from college soon?"

"True, although I'm not sure what his next move will be."

Dil originally enrolled in college for a degree in Biology and a minor in Music, but when he took some courses in Philosophy and Religious Studies, he fell in love with those fields, and he wanted to change his major to Religious Studies and his minor to Philosophy. Dil's parents were stunned, but his father told him, if that is what he wanted to do, then he needed to be the best at it.

"I think he'll be going to graduate school soon. He's got a strong GPA, so I know that he'll get accepted. That's what Chuckie's been telling him to do."

"How is Chuckie? Is he enjoying the married life?"

Charles 'Chuckie' Finster, Jr., at 25, had come a long way since his teenage years. Gone were his braces and glasses—now he mostly wore contacts. Chuckie found interest in History in college. He graduated with a Bachelor's in History, and remained in college to receive his Master's in History. After graduating with his master's, Chuckie took a job teaching History at the local community college, and it was there that he met his future wife. Ashley was her name; she was a petite 22 year-old with auburn hair and brown eyes. Ashley was a student in Chuckie's History class, and she fell in love with him over the semester. After the semester ended, Ashley emailed Chuckie, and expressed a desire to meet him. The two did, and one thing led to another, where Chuckie eventually asked Ashley to marry him. Of course, Chuckie's personal friends, which include members of the 'gang,' often teased him about the 'methods Ashley must have used to earn an "A" in his class.'

"Pretty good—he really hated it, when you weren't able to come to his wedding."

"Yeah, I really hated that I wasn't able to make it. I was in the process of making a film, but I did, of course, send a video greeting."

"Yeah, and he did like that."

"What kind of person is his wife? What kind of person is Ashley?"

"She's nice. She's a pretty strong Catholic with conservative leanings. She often clashes with Dil over those leanings."

Tommy chuckled. "Yes, Dil is known for his liberalism."

Angelica laughed. "I was at Chuckie's and Angelica's apartment, and Dil was there. When Ashley mentioned something about the 'evils of liberals,' Dil responded that he heard that there was a new military unit created to find the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that she should enlist."

Tommy laughed. "What was her response?"

"She didn't say much, but Chuckie giggled."

"How about Phil and Lil?"

"They're doing well. Phil has his restaurant, and Lil's working for a shrink."

Phillip 'Phil' and Lillian 'Lil' DeVille, the twins, were both 24 years of age with brown hair and eyes. Phil had maintained his love of cooking from middle school—obtaining a Culinary Arts degree and becoming a chef. After going from bank to bank, Phil was eventually able to secure a loan, and open his own restaurant. Lil continued to maintain her love for sports in college. Eventually, Lil obtained a degree in Sports Psychology.

"What kind of work is Lil doing for the shrink?"

"She basically works under him as a psychologist, but Lil told me that when athletes come in, they always go to her."

"What's the name of Phil's restaurant?"

"'Falling Off the Edge of the World Food by Phil DeVille.'"

Tommy laughed. "Interesting name."

"Dil came up with it."

Tommy smirked. "Makes sense."

"Still, you should stop by, while you're in town. It's really good. I took Ian to lunch there one time, but I think Phil spent of his time playing with Ian, and making him giggle."

"What about Susie?"

Susie Carmichael, at 26, was a very pretty lightly skinned black girl. Susie had always been close to Angelica—considering how close they are in age—but the two drew closer, after Angelica gave birth to Ian. Susie would often babysit Ian, just for the sole purpose of getting Angelica out of her apartment.

"Susie's great," replied Angelica. "She's been performing at some various clubs in town. But she often clashes with Dil."

Susie's music was a combination of Pop, Rhythm and Blues, and Soul—and it was more appealing to the 'mainstream crowd,' unlike Dil's.

Tommy chuckled. "Considering how hardcore Dil is into metal, I could see that."

Angelica smirked. "You know, Tommy, there's one person that I'm amazed you haven't asked me about."

"And who's that?"

"Kimi. I can remember how you looked at her in high school, and I've seen some of those familiar looks after high school. I know that you had a crush on her. That crush hasn't faded, since you've been out in LA, has it?"

Kimberly 'Kimi' Watanabe Finster, age 24, was a cute Japanese-American girl with dark hair and eyes. She was also Chuckie's step-sister. Tommy was quite fond of her, and he smiled, as he remembered flirting with her in high school, and during those times that he came home. Yet, Tommy never took the actual step of asking her out.

Nevertheless, Tommy smiled. "I'm going to be honest with you, Angelica. You seem to know your cousin well."

Angelica chuckled. "I'm actually amazed that you never bothered to ask her out."

"Some of that had to do with Chuckie. You know how protective he is of her. I can still remember how upset he was, when Kimi carved her initials and my initials into a wall, when we were kids."

"Yeah, well, Chuckie's married now, and he needs to let Kimi live her own life."

"Is she still working as a journalist?"

"Yes, she is…Could you hold on for a second?"

"Sure."

Angelica's conversation with her cousin was halted, when her blonde haired-blue eyed toddler entered the room. "Ian? Ian Louis Pickles, will you come here please? I want you to talk to your cousin, Tommy."

Tommy was able to hear his cousin over the phone. He smiled, when he heard the name 'Ian Louis.' His second cousin had the middle name of he and Angelica's late paternal grandfather.

The almost two-year-old Ian toddled to his mother, and Angelica placed him on her lap. Tommy heard Angelica mutter the word 'great,' before she heard him say, "Ian, say 'hi' to your cousin."

"Hi!" said the soon to be two-year-old.

"Hi, little man, your mom tells me that you've got a birthday coming up?"

"Yeah!"

Tommy smiled. "Do you know how old you're going to be?"

"Uh…"

Tommy maintained his smile. "I'll give you a hint. It's either one or two."

Tommy heard Angelica whisper the word 'two,' which was quickly repeated by Ian Pickles.

"That's correct, little man, and I'm going to be there to celebrate your birthday."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really, Ian, I'm going to visit you and your mom, and I've ever got a gift for you."

Ian gave a 'whoop' of delight.

And Tommy chuckled.

"Ian," began Angelica, "I need to take the phone back from you. Say 'bye' to Tommy."

"Bye, Tommy."

Tommy chuckled. "Bye, Ian."

Once Angelica took the phone from Ian, her son left her lap.

"That you again, Angelica?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah, it's me."

"I heard you say the word 'great', but you didn't say it in a very positive way. Is something wrong?"

"No, not really, I just realized that when Ian climbed on my lap that I needed to change his diaper."

"Ah, okay."

"I'll talk to you later, Tommy. Either on the phone, or when you arrive in town."

"Okay, see you, Angelica."

"See you, Tommy."


	2. Angelica Pickles verses Dil Pickles

******Author's Note**: Dil is not fond of those who try to insult the heavy metal culture \m/**  
**

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter II**

Two days later, the temperature in northern California was reminiscent of a day two years ago, on October 11th, to mark the second birthday of Ian Pickles. A cool-crisp day with the leaves turning brown, and descending from the trees. But in her apartment, Angelica knew that the temperature would warm up into the middle 60s. Angelica remembered her 'party days.' Around this time of year, the temperature would always begin to drop around eleven in the evening, and would begin to warm up, when the Sun rose the next morning. Angelica used to drink either a beer or a cocktail on nights like those with Seth. Perhaps she should not have, but Angelica could not worry about things like that now. Despite all her bad decisions, she would not trade up the gift that she received on this day two years ago.

The time was seven in the morning, and Angelica sipped her coffee. Virtually all of Angelica's friends were still sleeping, unless they had to be up early for work. Angelica could not even remember the last time that she had slept in—except that it had been before Ian was born. Her now two-year-old son was still sleeping. Angelica expected Ian to wake up within half an hour.

Two hours later, while Ian sat on a pillow giggling to an episode of _Spongebob_, Angelica began to decorate her apartment for Ian's birthday. Helping her was Susie Carmichael. The theme for Ian's birthday was _Spongebob_—his favorite cartoon.

"You know, I called my parents this morning," Angelica said, while she hung up one portion of a 'Happy Birthday' sign.

"Oh? What about?" asked Susie, while she hung up the other portion of the sign.

"I asked them, if they might be able to look after Ian for a few hours. I thought that it might be nice for him to come home surprised to see all the decorations."

"I take it that based on the fact Ian's in the living room, the answer was a 'no'?"

Angelica nodded. "They said that it was on such short notice, and that I should have been better prepared, if this is what I wanted to do."

"Well, Angelica, you do have to admit that it did come on short notice."

Again, Angelica nodded. "I know; I know, but there's a part of me that wonders, if the fact that they said 'no' was somehow an attack on me."

"Angelica, I know that you've felt—and sometimes I've seen it too—that your parents have held something against you, since Ian was born. But you know that they love their grandchild—I've seen it in them."

Once again, Angelica nodded, while she put up a _Spongebob_ banner. "I know that they do, but I also know that they—or at least one of them—could have watched Ian. I realize that it would have been difficult on my mom, since it was on such short notice, but not on my dad. Dear God, my dad's practically retired!"

Susie chuckled. "Are you sure, you're thinking about what you're saying, Angelica?"

"Huh?" Angelica said, while she looked for a location to hang a banner with Patrick Star's image.

"Think about it. Your mom and Ian by themselves would be just fine, and I think your dad with Ian would be fine, so long as your mom was around. But your dad alone with Ian? I don't think so."

"What makes you think that?"

"I can see your dad doing a lot of things with Ian, but changing his diapers isn't one of them."

Angelica chuckled. "True, I have to admit, Daddy doesn't come across that way." But returning the attention to the _Spongebob_ banners, she added, "Anyway, we still have quite a bit to get done."

* * *

Shortly after noon, Angelica and Susie had finished decorating the theme for Ian's birthday. Once the decorations were in place, Angelica fixed a light lunch for herself, Ian, and Susie. After lunch, Ian toddled into his nursery to play with his toys, while Susie assisted Angelica with the few dishes from lunch. Angelica predicted that guests for Ian's birthday would arrive within 45 minutes to an hour. But as Angelica did the dishes with Susie, she could not help but look outside a window and smirk.

"What's with that grin on your face?" asked Susie.

"It's just the scenery outside. It's making me laugh."

"What's so special about it?"

"It's fall."

"Yeah? So?"

Angelica maintained her grin. "Do you remember, when we were little kids and the parade?"

Susie laughed. "Was that when we were fighting over the microphone?"

Angelica chuckled. "I think so. Now I just wonder how old we were?"

"Four, I think. Maybe it was five, but I think it was four—considering how little Dil was at that parade. Wasn't the song we were singing something about 'fall being here'?"

Angelica laughed. "I think so. I think the lyrics were like, 'Fall is here! Fall is here!'"

Susie joined her laughter.

"It just seems so odd though," added Angelica.

"What does?"

"I'm remembering an incident from over 20 years ago, and I had a baby born around the same time of year. It just seems odd."

"You dwell too much, Angelica."

Susie would have added to her statement, if it was not for the doorbell ringing. "I wonder who that could be?" she said.

"An early guest?" replied Angelica.

Angelica opened the door to reveal her cousin, Dil. Dil wore an Iron Maiden shirt with his long red hair curling at the tips. Around his neck, Angelica could see the black lace of his two necklaces—a Star of David and a crucifix. Dil wore the necklaces as part of his dual religious heritage. In his hand, Dil carried a card. "Hi, Dil, come on in."

Dil entered Angelica's apartment, and handed her the card. "This is for the birthday boy," he said. "I didn't know what to get him, so I thought a card with a gift might work. Buy him a toy."

"Thanks, Dil."

"Speaking of the birthday boy, where is he?"

"In his bedroom, the last time I checked."

"Well, I'll go say 'hi' to him."

Ian's nursery was typical for a two-year-old boy—a crib and a place to change diapers. Images from the _Spongebob_ cartoon were frequently placed on the walls. One image, however, that stood out was a banner of a bear with building blocks. The image had been in Angelica's room, when she was a little girl. Ian, who was busy playing, did not even notice his older cousin, until he found himself being tickled.

"Hey there, little Ian Gillan," Dil said, while he scooped up his still giggling cousin. "Hey there, little Ian Paice."

"I didn't name him, after a couple of your rock stars, Dil," Angelica said from the doorway with a smirk. "I named him 'Ian', because I liked the name, and his middle name comes from our grandfather."

Dil turned to Ian and smiled. "Well, I'd say that your mom did a pretty good job naming you," he added with another quick tickle.

Once Ian stopped laughing, he said, "I wanna hear you sing, Dil."

"Hear me sing?" Dil asked with a smirk.

"Yeah!"

Angelica turned to Susie, who was standing next to her, with a look of dread.

Dil, on the other hand, flashed a wicked grin, and began to chuckle.

"Dil, don't," Angelica said.

Dil, still flashing his grin, began to sing, "Torches blazed, and sacred chants were praised…"

"Dil!"

Dil, maintaining his grin, started to sing, "My mother was a witch. She was…"

"Dil!" Angelica responded, louder than before.

Dil chuckled. "Oh, all right." Sitting in a chair next to Ian's crib he added, "I'll sing something different. I'll sing a portion of a song that's a little bit mellower:

_One day in the year of the fox,  
came a time remembered well.  
When the strong young man of the rising sun,  
heard the tolling of the great black bell.  
One day in the year of the fox,  
when the bell began to ring.  
Meant the time had come,  
for the one to go,  
to the temple of the king.  
There in the middle of the circle he stands,  
searching, seeking,  
with just one touch of his trembling hand,  
the answer will be found.  
Daylight waits, while the old man sings,  
'Heaven, help me!'  
And then like a rush of a thousand wings,  
it shines upon the one.  
And the day has just begun."_

Once he finished singing, Dil turned to Angelica and Susie with a smile.

Angelica and Susie were stunned.

"That…that was quite nice of you, Dil," Angelica said.

"Thanks," Dil said with a smile. He returned Ian to the floor and said, "Looks like I interfered with your playtime. I'm going to chat with your mom and Susie for a while."

"'Kay," Ian responded, who was back to playing with his toys.

Before Dil left the nursery, he took a moment to observe some CDs next to a CD player on Ian's dresser. All children's related music, or some music he could see Susie performing. "Dear God!" Dil muttered, before he left the room.

When Dil returned to the kitchen, Angelica and Susie were already in a conversation.

"Angelica?"

"Yeah, Susie?"

"I want to ask you about something."

"What is it?"

"I have someone who's going to produce some recordings of mine here in town."

"That sounds cool."

"And I was wondering, if your company might be interested in marketing it? You know, put it on your label?"

"Hmm…I think I might be able to arrange that. There're a lot of people, I think, who might want to buy your music. I'm sure that we could make some money off of it."

"Say, Angelica," Dil began, entering the conversation, "because Susie said that, it made me think of something that I want to ask you."

"What is it, Dil?"

"Well, me and my band, we're in the process of recording a CD as well, and we could use someone to market and distribute it as well. How about your company?"

Angelica paused. "I think that might be a lot harder to sell, Dil."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in all honesty, the market for that kind of music isn't as large as the kind of music that Susie puts out."

"Oh, bullshit! Look at the metal festivals in Europe, South America, and Japan."

"That's still a smaller audience to the audience that Pop and R&B can put out."

"The style of metal needs to change," added Susie. "All the music seems to be about is sex, drugs, and Satan."

"'Sex, drugs, and Satan'?" Dil said, while he slammed his fist on the counter. "Perhaps, I should explain what the kind of music you listen to is all about?"

"Dil, don't," Angelica said, while she turned to the hallway, hoping that Ian would not come around the corner.

Dil, however, would have none of it. "You know what; I think I'm going to." And gesturing a pair of fingers at Susie, he added, "Now then, all your music is nothing more than to fill us with pity about everyone's failed relationships and marriages. Sure the music sucks, of course, but it's your music, and you like it that way, which allows you to keep the rest of us in misery with your failed relationships and marriages; and I thought Country was bad, but this goes even further. It's all about these girls, who get themselves knocked up, and they wish that they could party their asses off like me. But since they can't, and since they're miserable, they have to bring us into their world of misery as well!"

Angelica often ignored most of Dil's rants, but now he struck a raw nerve. "What did you say, Dil?"

"You heard me!" he said, turning to his cousin.

"You know what, Dil, just leave."

"What?"

"You heard me—get out!"

With a sarcastic sigh, Dil said, "Fine!" But as he turned the doorknob to leave, with his back to his cousin, Dil muttered, "Fuck you!" before he displayed his index finger.

For a few minutes after Dil left, Angelica's hands continued to shake. But slowly, she calmed down.

"You know," began Susie, "I don't think he really meant what he said."

"Probably not, but it makes me mad all the same."

* * *

An hour later, all the guests had arrived at Angelica's apartment for Ian's birthday. While Ian was obviously the 'star' for the day, Tommy was a close second—mostly because Tommy had not been to his hometown in five months.

Observing those present, Tommy said, "Where's Dil? I thought he would have been here by now."

Most of 'the gang' muttered the same question, but not Angelica or Susie.

"He was here earlier," Angelica began, "but I told him to leave."

"How come?" asked Didi.

"He and I got into an argument about music," Susie replied. "He said some things about my music that pissed off Angelica."

"Well, what did he say?" asked Didi.

Angelica sighed. "He said that the kind of music that Susie listens to is for those girls, who find themselves pregnant, and are just pissed off that they can't party their asses off like he can, so they like to spread their misery to everyone else."

Chuckie and Phil covered their mouths, and Tommy did his best not to chuckle. But those in the room could understand why Dil's statement would make Angelica mad. She was someone who found herself unexpectedly pregnant.

"Angelica and Susie," Didi began, "I want to apologize to you for what my son said."

However, Didi's sister-in-law, and Angelica's mother, Charlotte, had a different approach. _"Perhaps if more young women find themselves listening to Dil's music, perhaps they wouldn't find themselves pregnant,"_ she thought.

"I'm going to call Dil right now," began Didi.

"No, Mom," interjected Tommy, "let me talk to him. I'll stop by his place later on. Besides, I don't think he really meant what he said."

Angelica sighed. "I don't think he did either; it just made me mad."

Tommy nodded. "I know that it did, and I'm sorry, but let me talk to him later."

Angelica returned the nod. "Okay."

Tommy smiled. "Good, now let's get back to Ian's birthday party."

Angelica returned the smile. "Yes, let's do."


	3. The Brothers Reunite

**Author's Note**: I cut the size of this chapter down significantly. Otherwise, I felt it would have been too long. So far, this is my longest chapter to date. I also appreciate the reviews I have received so far-may they continue!

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter III**

At nearly five in the evening, virtually all the guests had left Angelica's apartment. Only three remained—Stu, Didi, and Tommy. To Angelica, it seemed ironic that her uncle, aunt, and cousin would still be present; while her parents, whose grandchild was the 'star of the day,' left early.

"Thanks for coming, you guys," Angelica said.

"You know that we wouldn't have missed it," said Stu. "That little guy means a lot to us as well."

"Absolutely," added Didi.

Angelica smiled. "Here, let me get Ian, so you can say goodbye to him."

Turning to the master room, where Ian was playing with his new toys, Angelica said, "Ian?"

The official two-year-old turned to her.

"Would you come here for a minute, please?"

The toddler left his new toys, and charged to his mother.

Angelica scooped Ian up, but as she did so, she muttered the word 'wonderful.'

Presenting Ian to his great-uncle, great-aunt, and second cousin, Angelica said, "Say 'goodbye' to Uncle Stu, Aunt Didi, and Tommy."

"Goodbye," the toddler said with a bright smile.

"Bye there, sport," Stu said with a smile, while he ran a few fingers through Ian's golden locks.

"Bye there, little guy," Didi said, while she tickled the child's tummy.

Ian giggled.

"See you around, little man," Tommy said, while he playfully slapped Ian's hand.

Ian smiled.

Angelica kissed Ian's cheek, and returned him to the floor. "I'll need to see you in a minute, Ian," Angelica said, while the boy charged back to his toys.

"Well, it looks like we should go," Stu said.

"Thanks again for coming," added Angelica.

"If you guys could wait in the car for me, I'd like to talk to Angelica alone for a moment," Tommy said, while he turned to his parents.

"Okay, but don't be too long," Didi said. "You know how impatient your father can be."

Tommy smiled. "Right. No problem."

After Stu and Didi left, Tommy turned to his cousin. "I heard you mutter the word 'wonderful.' Is that the same as muttering the word 'great'?"

Angelica smirked. "Yes, I need to change him."

Tommy returned the smirk. "Well, I'll talk to Dil. I don't think he really meant to hurt you."

Angelica sighed. "I don't think he did either. I mean, we're cousins. It just made me mad the way that he said it."

Tommy nodded. "Well, he still owes you an apology. I'm going to stop by his place, after riding home with Mom and Dad."

* * *

After Stu drove himself and Didi home, Tommy took their car, and drove to Dil's apartment. Dil lived on the ground floor of an apartment complex, because he did not want to ever live in a basement apartment, due to the fear of flooding. Tommy knocked on Dil's door, and Dil answered wearing a black tank top.

Dil smiled. "Well, it looks as though my big brother decided to come and visit me." Turning from one hallway to the other outside his apartment, Dil added, "And where are the other members of the inquisition that are out to get me?"

Tommy smiled. "Nobody else is here, Dil, just me."

"I take it that you heard about something that happened at Angelica's today?"

Tommy nodded. "I did."

"And I hope that you'll give me the chance to explain my side of it?"

Again, Tommy nodded. "I will."

"Good. Please come in," Dil said, while he gestured Tommy to enter.

Tommy did so, and Dil shut the door behind him.

"There is something I was working on in my bedroom, when you knocked…"

"Was it with a girl or with yourself?" Tommy said with a grin.

"The hell with you," Dil replied with a glare.

Tommy laughed.

And Dil smiled. "Anyway, it will only take me a minute to finish it. Please make yourself at home, until then. I have some beer, pop, or tea in the fridge, if you want one."

Dil retreated to his bedroom, and Tommy opened Dil's fridge. Besides Diet Pepsi and unsweet tea, Dil had a 12-pack of Natural Light cans.

"Natural Light, Dil?"

"It tastes good, and it's cheap," Dil responded from his bedroom.

Tommy smirked, while he took one of Dil's Natural Light beers, and opened it, as he returned to Dil's living room.

Dil's master room featured tapestries and posters of various metal bands—most of whom Tommy had seen before: Iron Maiden, Dio, Rainbow, Grave Digger, Metallica, Blind Guardian, and Iced Earth. But he did not pay much attention to them. Also, in Dil's living room was a CD player with various metal CDs surrounding it. Tommy had probably seen some of them, when he and Dil still lived at home. Two CDs did stand out to him. One of them was Iced Earth's _Horror Show_. The album seemed to be one that Dil had been playing recently. The other CD that stood out to Tommy was Grave Digger's _The Last Supper_. The image on the album cover showed Jesus Christ seated alone at the 'Last Supper table' with an image of Death standing behind him. Finally, also in Dil's master room was a bookshelf of various scholarly religious texts and some religious images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Buddha, Shiva, and Moses.

Dil returned a moment later, and when he noticed Tommy with a beer, he said, "Let me grab one as well."

As Dil left for his kitchen, Tommy said, "Does Mom ever complain about your hair?"

"Sometimes," he began, while he returned from the kitchen with her beer. "Grandma Minka actually does more, but unfortunately for them, I'm the 'heavy metal King David', so I'm not cutting it."

Tommy grinned, but as he did so, he happened to notice the Star of David and the crucifix that fell out of Dil's shirt. Pointing at the images, he asked, "So where do you fall religiously?"

Dil took a gulp of his beer. "I'm no saint, that's for sure, but I probably would fall in the Christian bracket. I'll always wear the Star of David, since, like you, we were born Jewish through our mother, but since I've started to recognize more of the beliefs and teachings about Jesus, I would have to fall into the Christian bracket. I have great interest in Catholicism, but since I have trouble with some of their conservative positions on birth control and abortion, I probably lean more towards an Anglican/Episcopalian." Dil took another gulp of his beer and added, "What about you, Tommy?"

Tommy took a gulp of his beer and said, "I really don't know. I don't dwell on questions like that much. But I have to ask you, Dil, since you are a Religious Studies major, does anyone ever bother you about your music and lifestyle?"

"Well, the discipline is taught academically, but, it is true, that we have a few of those 'holier than thou' types. When they say something to me about either my shirts or my music, I always tell them that it doesn't bother my personal religious beliefs. When that response doesn't make any sense to them, which often happens, I'll ask them, 'Do you listen to any of these bands or to this type of music?' Usually the answer is 'no' to at least one of them. Therefore, I reply, 'Well, shouldn't you try to understand these particular bands and music on their own terms, before you start condemning me or them?' That usually ends the conversation right there and then."

Tommy smirked, but as he did so, he began to focus on Dil's tapestries and posters. Three that captured his attention were posters for Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple right next to each other. They probably would not have meant much to Tommy, except for a sign above them that stated, 'Our Three Founding Bands.'

"Say, Dil?"

"Yeah, Tommy?"

"Those three posters that you have," Tommy began, while he pointed to them, "and the statement, 'Our Three Founding Bands.' What does that mean?"

"Those are the three founding bands of heavy metal. They created heavy metal—Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. That's what makes them special." Dil took a gulp of his beer and added, "But I don't think that you came here to talk to me about religion or heavy metal. You want to know about my side—about what happened today at Angelica's, right?"

Tommy took a gulp of his beer and said, "Yes, that's correct."

Dil took another gulp of his beer and said, "Well then, let me explain what brought it on. Basically, I had finished playing with Ian, and I walked into Angelica's kitchen. Angelica and Susie were talking. Susie was telling Angelica how she was going to be recording a CD, and wondered if Angelica's company would support it. You know, put it on a label?"

Tommy nodded. "Right, I understand."

"Well, my own band, Dark Stairway, we're in the process of recording a CD, and I made the same pitch to Angelica. She told me that my music would be a lot harder to sell compared to Susie's, and that's when Susie made the statement that my music was nothing more than 'sex, drugs, and Satan', and when she made that statement that's when I exploded." Dil gestured for Tommy to wait, while he finished the last of his beer. "That's when I informed Susie that her music was nothing more than failed relationships and marriages, and because they're miserable from their failed relationships and marriages, they want to make us miserable too; and with that being said, they can put that in their pipe and smoke it! Or in my case," Dil began with a gesture, "I'm going to roll it, and smoke it!" he added, while he flashed a small joint.

"Only half a joint?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, this is what I was working on and finishing, when you arrived. Before I sing at a gig, I like to smoke half a joint and drink a beer."

Tommy smirked. "There is one thing, Dil."

"What is it?"

"Well, during your rant on Susie's music, did you mention something about how it's for girls, who find themselves pregnant, and are now pissed off that they can't party their ass off like you?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"You do see how something like that would make Angelica mad, don't you?"

Dil rapped his fingers and replied, "Yeah, looking back on it, I probably do."

"But you weren't trying to actually hurt Angelica, were you?"

"Of course not—she's my cousin! I've done quite a bit to help her out with Ian. If I didn't care about her, then I never would have tried to help her."

Tommy nodded. "I think she knows that as well, Dil, but I do think that you owe her an apology."

Dil returned the nod. "Yeah, I'll call her in the morning. But I'm not changing my views on heavy metal verses other kinds of music."

"You know, Dil," Tommy began with a smile.

"Yeah?"

"While I know how much you love metal, have you ever considered expanding your horizons?"

Dil chuckled. "Expand my horizons?" Then Dil placed a hand on his forehead and sighed. "Oh, God!" Turning to his kitchen, he added, "Tommy, let me get another beer, and then we'll talk about 'expanding my horizons.' Do you want another one?"

Turning to his own beer, Tommy replied, "No, Dil, I'm fine."

Dil nodded, grabbed another beer, and returned to his living room.

"Okay," Dil began, while he opened the can, "let me explain about the 'expanding my horizons' quote. First and foremost, it's a bunch of bullshit. Let me explain why. The people who are saying that I'm 'closed-minded' in my music, and I need to 'expand my horizons', are just as closed-minded as I am. Essentially, they are telling me that I need to listen to their music, but when I give them the same offer about my music, they declare, 'I'm not going to listen to that shit!' Now wait a minute. These same people are telling me to 'expand my horizons', but when I make the same offer to them, they refuse, and that's why I think it's a bunch of bullshit." With a fresh gulp, Dil added, "Do you get my point?"

Tommy took a gulp of his beer. "Yeah, I do."

Dil smiled. "Thank you."

Looking at the various metal tapestries and posters on Dil's walls, Tommy added, "How hard was it for you to make a CD?"

Dil took another gulp. "We haven't exactly finished it yet, but what we haven't finished is extremely minor. I'm hoping that we can sell some copies, since pretty much all of my income comes through my music with Dark Stairway—gigs that we play, and shirts that we sell, here in town or in neighboring towns."

"What part of the CD haven't you finished?"

"It's at the end of the album. We decided to do a cover. The other eight songs on the album are all originals, but we decided to have the last song be a cover. We're so used to doing them that we thought we'd include one on our first album. The problem is that everyone has one that he wants to do, so we're having a hard time coming to a consensus."

"What songs are you wanting to do? I may have heard of some of them?"

Dil took a quick gulp. "Let's see, Sabbath's 'Heaven and Hell' has been mentioned. 'We'll Burn the Sky' from the Scorpions was another. Grave Digger's 'Crucify' and 'Heavy Metal Breakdown' were also mentioned. So was Iron Maiden's '2 Minutes to Midnight.'"

"I think I remember hearing some of those songs come out of your bedroom, when we lived at home."

Dil nodded. "Well, I don't think we'll probably cover any of the songs that I mentioned." Dil took the last gulp of his beer and added, "Chances are we'll probably cover the song that our keyboard player, James, suggested."

"Which is?" Tommy asked, while he finished the last of her beer.

"Deep Purple's 'Child in Time'—it's kind of appropriate since Jon Lord, the original keyboard player of Deep Purple, passed away recently. With Lord's passing, we've lost the second member of those who helped create heavy metal. The first was John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, but that was over 30 years ago."

Tommy nodded. He did not want to appear rude, but what Dil was telling him did not mean as much to him, as it did to his brother.

"As a keyboard player," continued Dil, "I know James is a major fan of Jon Lord, so I'm sure that's why he suggested it; and like I said, it's appropriate."

Again, Tommy nodded.

Dil paused to look at his poster of Deep Purple. "The only negative thing is, it's going to be a bitch of a song to sing."

"It is?"

Dil nodded. "I've done it before, but it's an extremely hard song to sing. Ian Gillan, who originally sang it, can't really do so anymore. It's going to take some major lung power."

"Well, like you've said, you've 'done it before.'"

Dil smirked. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy."

"Do you have a name for your album?"

"We'll probably just call it _Dark Stairway_ or maybe _Dark Stairway Volume I_. Led Zeppelin did that for years, and it always worked for them." Dil paused to look at his wall clock. "Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"The time is seven. Let's pay a little visit somewhere."

"Where?"

"The Friendly Tap. You remember that place, don't you?"

"Of course! Great bar!"

"Well, let's go!"

"Well…"

"Well, what?" Dil said with a look.

"I've got Mom and Dad's car, and I don't want to be loaded while driving it."

Dil nodded. "Fair enough, here's what we'll do. You drive Mom and Dad's car home, and I'll follow you. Then we'll drive to the bar. And if you want, you can spend the night with me."

"That sounds all fine and good, but I told Kimi that I'd meet her tomorrow for an interview. Plus, I want to workout tomorrow."

Again, Dil nodded. "That's fine, when's your interview?"

"At one."

"Okay, well, how about this. We get up around 9:30 in the morning, and we'll go to the gym around 10:00—since I like to workout too. That'll give you plenty of time to take a shower, and see Kimi."

Tommy nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

Dil smiled. "Speaking of Kimi, I do want to ask you about her."

"Save it for the bar."

Dil maintained his smile. "Don't worry, I will. Call Mom and tell her what's up."


	4. The Pickles Brothers at The Friendly Tap

**Author's Note**: I appreciate the visits and reviews so far. I hope that they will continue.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter IV**

Tommy closed his cell phone and said, "I just got off the phone with Mom. Looks like all is well."

"Good," said Dil. "I need to change my shirt—hold on a minute."

Dil entered his bedroom, and removed his tank top. Browsing through his closet, he secured a Judas Priest shirt with an image of Nostradamus on the front and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the back.

"The guys in the bar don't like tank tops," Dil explained, once he returned to his living room. "They think it causes fights. Despite the fact that look at me. I'm only a medium sized man."

Tommy smiled. "It's too cold to wear a tank top anyway. The Sun has already set."

Dil returned the smile. "True. Anyway, let's go."

Tommy, followed by his younger brother, drove his parents' car back to their home. After taking the keys to his parents' car inside the home, Tommy entered his brother's car, and Dil drove them to one of his favorite bars—The Friendly Tap.

* * *

The first image of The Friendly Tap that one sees, when he or she arrives at the bar, is a neon sign with a bartender constantly pouring tap beer. The interior of The Friendly Tap, in terms of size, would have been average—nothing too big or too small. Along its walls were images of signs promoting various beers and liquors. In the back of the bar were a pool table and a digital jukebox. The patrons of The Friendly Tap varied from age and profession—from college students to white collar and blue collar middle-age workers. Behind the bar stood a man in his early 40s with long hair, a beard, and wearing a Giants jersey.

"Hey, Eric," Dil said to the man.

"Hey, Dil!" the man replied. "What'll it be?"

"Pitcher of Bud Light," Dil responded. "Oh, and, Eric, this is my brother, Tommy," Dil added, while he gestured to his brother.

"Nice to meet you, Tommy," Eric said, extending his hand. "I'm Eric."

Tommy shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Eric. But we might have met before, the last time I was in town."

"When was that?"

"Five months ago, back in May."

Eric chuckled. "Well, that's been some time ago. Anyway, do you have your ID?"

"Oh, of course," Tommy replied, while he showed Eric his driver's license.

"Okay," Eric said, while he handed Tommy back his driver's license. "What will you have?"

"Um, well, I'm almost surprised that I'm not drinking out of Dil's pitcher." Turning to his brother, Tommy asked, "Do you really drink all of that by yourself, Dil?"

"Well, yeah," responded Dil, almost stunned by the question. "But get Tommy a glass," he said to the bartender. "He can buy the next one."

Dil poured himself a glass, and then handed the pitcher over to Tommy.

As Tommy poured himself a glass, Dil said, "I'll be back in a second. I'm going to put some music on."

Dil left Tommy for the back of the bar and the jukebox. Within a few minutes, the satellite music stopped playing, and Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' began to play. Some in the bar were happy by the change in music; others, not so much.

"That's the reaction Dil's music always brings," Eric said with a smile. "Some love it; others hate it."

Tommy took a gulp of her beer. "Just curious, you guys have live music here, don't you?"

"Sure do."

"Well, you probably know already that my brother's in a band…"

"I do."

"I'm curious, has his band ever played her?"

"No, it hasn't, even though Dil's tried to get them booked here before. Personally, I like some of Dil's music, even though I don't really listen to that kind of stuff anymore. But in the case of Dil playing here, it's selling the owner. She likes Dil, but I don't think she cares for his music."

"Well then," Dil began, as he returned to the bar, "the music sounds so much better."

Eric smirked, and shook his head at Dil's comment.

"I'm just amazed how some of my favorite music comes out of Mom and Dad's era, and they listened to none of it. Dear God, they listened to freakin' Disco!"

"Eh, don't feel bad, Dil," Eric began. "I was born in the late '60s, and my dad's two favorite musicians were Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin—although he did like Elvis some. Anyway, a lot of the first heavy metal bands from the '70s didn't have the mainstream popularity like Disco had. It's kind of like the way Pop and R&B are today."

"Yes, and we certainly know what happened to Disco," Dil said with a smile. "Now we can only pray that Death's scythe is hovering over Pop and R&B."

Tommy and Eric chuckled.

"Speaking of Mom and Dad," Dil began, while he took a gulp of his beer, "I take it that they picked you up from the airport today?"

"Yeah, they picked me up earlier today. We drove home, and then we drove to Angelica's apartment."

"I have to ask, what was the reaction about what happened between me and Angelica?" Dil asked, while his next song, Rainbow's 'Stargazer', began to play.

"Everyone could tell that you shouldn't have said that to Angelica, but I could see Chuckie and Phil trying hard not to laugh, when they heard it."

"Well, I'll apologize for it tomorrow," Dil said, while he took another gulp of his beer. "I take it Mom and Dad were upset?"

"I didn't hear Dad say anything, so I don't know about him. Mom, on the other hand, she was upset, but I talked to her about it over the phone. She's cool that you're going to apologize about it, so I'd say all is well with her."

Dil nodded, and took another gulp. "So did you and Kimi chat much at the party?"

"A little bit, but not too much—we really focused on Ian. I mean, he was the star of the show."

Dil finished the last of his beer, and began to pour another glass. "I know that you always thought Kimi was cute, and she is cute," Dil began, while his next song, Deep Purple's 'Child in Time', started to play. "I think she always felt the same way about you." Dil took a gulp of his beer and added, "Do you still feel the same way about her?"

Tommy prepared to answer Dil's question, but he stopped, when he listened to the lyrics of the song that Dil played. "Is this the song you're going to cover?"

"You're not trying to dodge my question, are you, Bro?" Dil asked with a look.

Tommy laughed. "No, no, not at all. It's just that I happened to hear the words 'sweet child in time' on this song, so I wondered if this is the song that you're probably going to cover?"

Dil took a gulp of his beer and said, "Yes, it is."

"What makes this song so difficult?"

"Just wait," Dil replied. "Wait until it becomes heavier."

The opening of 'Child in Time', was relatively calm, but as its crescendo increased, so did its vocals. The vocals went from 'calm' to 'a high pitched scream.' The sound was the differnce between 'night and day.' In the bar, some of the patrons gave the 'headbanger gestrue' to each note—placing one's thumb against the second and third fingers, while the first and fourth were upright. Others, however, sneered at the music. Tommy thought he overheard one of the patrons say, 'Too loud.'

"Do you see now why?" asked Dil.

Tommy nodded. "That I do."

"I can, and have, sung it before, but it's not easy." Dil took a quick drink. "Like I said, Ian Gillan, who's the vocalist, can't even really sing it anymore—it's that hard."

Again, Tommy nodded.

Dil took another drink. "But my original question wasn't about 'Child in Time.' It was about Kimi. Do you still feel the same way about her as you did in high school, or has college and LA changed you?"

Tommy took the final gulp of his beer and began pouring another one. "Everyone changes, Dil, for whatever reason. We get older. We move to another area. Take Angelica, for example. She changed, when she had a baby. It doesn't matter. One way or another, we change."

Dil nodded. "I understand that, but that doesn't answer my question."

Tommy took a gulp of his fresh beer. "Then let me answer the question this way," he began, while another of Dil's songs began to play—Iron Maiden's 'Caught Somewhere in Time'. "Do I still find her attractive? Yes. But do I think we can have a relationship, after all these years have passed? I don't know."

"So the girls in LA didn't make you stop thinking about her?"

Tommy took another gulp. "No, I still thought about her, but it wasn't one of those 'high school romances.' I got older. I aged. And certainly when I dated girls, I thought about them, not Kimi. But since I returned home, have I thought about her again? Yes."

"Sometimes I'm still surprised you didn't pursue a relationship back then."

"You know the reason why I didn't."

"Because of Chuckie? That's all in the past. He's married now."

"Regardless of which," Tommy began with another drink, "it takes two to have a relationship. You can't have one by yourself."

"Sure you can," Dil said with a grin. "It's called masturbating."

Tommy turned from his brother, and raised his index finger. "Fuck you," he muttered.

Dil laughed.

And Tommy smiled. "You get the point I'm trying to make, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Dil replied, while another of his songs, Grave Digger's 'Crucify' began to play.

"Dear God, Dil, how many songs did you play?"

"One more after this one."

Tommy took another drink and said, "Anyway, I don't know how Kimi has changed since that period."

"She's been with a few guys, since graduating high school and college. But they never really lasted very long."

Tommy nodded.

Dil finished his beer and began to pour another one—ending the pitcher. "Are you going to be in town for a while, Tommy?"

"I think so," Tommy replied, before he took another drink. "I've got another movie I'm going to direct, but it's going to be at least a month, before we begin casting. So I may be around for a couple of weeks. Besides, it's nice to get out of LA."

"What's it going to be about?"

"It's going to be a movie about Nicholas and Alexandria, the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia."

Dil chuckled. "Oh, I could just see Grandpa Boris' reaction to that one!"

Tommy smiled. He and Dil's maternal grandparents were Russian Jews. Russian Jews, for the most part, hated the tsarist system—due to decades of oppression under that system. "True, who knows what Grandma Minka will think about it, because she's eventually going to hear about it."

"Or Mom for that matter," added Dil.

"Yeah, or Mom," Tommy said with a smirk.

As Tommy finished his sentence, Dil's final song came on the jukebox—Dio's 'The Last in Line.'

"This is your final song?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah, I always save this one from Dio as my final song." Dil paused to give a handbanger gesture, when the crescendo increased.

Tommy shook his head with a grin, while he finished the last of his beer.

"And Tommy?" said Dil.

"Yeah, Dil?"

Dil gestured to the empty pitcher. "We need another one of these." And placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, "And you're buying," Dil added with a smirk.

* * *

The Pickles brothers remained at the bar for another hour, and returned to Dil's apartment by nine that evening.

"A quiet night, I'd say," Dil said, while he shut his apartment door.

"Do you normally stay out later?"

"If I don't have something to do, then yeah, I do."

Dil left his brother for the kitchen. "I want you to have one more drink with me."

"Haven't we had enough, Dil? We have to be up in nearly 12 hours!"

Dil smirked. "It's just one more, so don't worry. There's a reason why I want to drink this beer with you. You see, there's a reason behind all my madness."

Tommy sighed. "Okay, fine."

Dil smiled, while he grabbed two beers.

Returning to his living room, Dil handed a beer to Tommy, while he focused on his CD player. Tommy noticed that Dil grabbed a CD that had stood out to him earlier, Iced Earth's _Horror Show_.

"Somehow I thought you were playing that," Tommy said.

"I play this album a lot at this time of year, since we're in the month of Halloween. This album basically discusses some of the famous horror characters throughout history. However, that's not why I'm playing a song from this album right now, or why I asked you to have one more drink with me."

"Then why did you?"

Dil set his CD player to play the fourth song on the album. The song had a mellower tune then many of the songs Dil often played. "This song is called 'Ghost of Freedom.' I always dedicate it to Grandpa Lou, because he was a World War II veteran."

Tommy smiled, and raised his beer can. "Here's to Grandpa Lou!"

Dil returned the smile, and toasted with Tommy. "To Grandpa Lou and him walking 15 miles through the snow with shoes made of iron and wood!"

Tommy laughed, while he and Dil struck their beer cans together.


	5. Interview with a Kimi

**Author's Note**: I decided to break up what I have here into two separate chapters, because I worried about how long it was going to be. I also extend a big "thank you" to those who have read and reviewed so far. For those of you interested in a "little romance," here's the beginnings of that for you.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter V**

Shortly after nine in the morning, Angelica was dropping her son off at daycare, when her cellphone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she noticed that the number belonged to her cousin, Dil Pickles. But Angelica wanted to say goodbye to her son, so she immediately clicked for Dil's call to go right to her voicemail.

"Hey, Angelica, it's Dil. I need to talk to you soon. There's something I need to tell you." Despite the fact that Dil left a message, he felt odd doing so.

"Tommy?" Dil said, after he closed his cellphone.

"Yeah, Dil?"

"I wonder, if she's not upset at me? Her phone only rang twice, before it went right to her voicemail."

"I don't think she really is. If so, maybe I'll have another talk with her."

But as Tommy finished his sentence, Dil's cellphone rang. The number on the caller ID was Angelica.

"Is it her?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Dil said with a nod. "It's her." Opening his cellphone, Dil said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Dil," responded Angelica.

"Hey, Angelica, I almost thought you didn't want to talk to me—based on the fact that your phone rang twice, and it went right to your voicemail."

"Well, I was dropping Ian off at daycare, and saying goodbye to him, and I didn't want to stop to answer the phone. But in some respects, maybe I should have. That was quite rude, what you said yesterday."

"Yes, it was, and I'm sorry. I was just caught up in the heat of the moment. I don't like my music being referred to as 'sex, drugs, and Satan', and I'm not going to change my tastes in music, but my words yesterday were careless, and for that, I'm sorry."

"And I accept your apology, Dil. But, I have to ask you; don't you think you should expand your tastes in music?"

Dil chuckled. "My brother asked me that question last night, so I'm going to tell you the same thing I told him. The people who want me to 'expand my tastes in music' essentially want me to listen to their music. But when I make the same offer about my music, they respond with statements like, 'I don't want to listen to that shit!' So the way I see it, they're just as closed-minded in their musical tastes as I am in mine. Therefore, I think the whole argument about 'expanding my tastes in music' is nothing but a bunch of bullshit. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Angelica nodded. "Yes, Dil, I do."

Dil smiled. "Good. Anyway…I just want to know is there a chance your company might be willing to market my band's CD?"

Angelica sighed. "I don't know, Dil…"

"Just locally, if anything—I know we could sell some copies here in town, and in towns that we've played; and maybe we could sell some copies in other towns, if we could get some of the songs to play on a Sirius metal channel, or have one of the local hard rock/metal DJs play some songs from the album."

Again, Angelica sighed. "Do you have the CD recorded yet, Dil?"

"No, not yet, but we can get that done very quick."

"By 'very quick' how long do you mean?"

"I don't know everybody's schedule. Could I call you back in about 15 minutes?"

"Sure, Dil."

"Thanks."

Dil ended his conversation with Angelica, and began to call his guitar player, Andrew Stanislov.

"I guess Angelica told you to expand your horizons in music," Tommy said with a grin.

Dil smiled.

"How else did the conversation go?"

Dil gestured a finger, while his phone began to dial the number of his guitar player. "I'll tell you in a minute."

"Hello?" said the voice of Dark Stairway's guitar player, who sounded as though he had just woke up.

"Andrew, it's Dil. Hey, I need you to do me a favor."

"What's that?"

"I need you to call the other members of the band. I've got someone who might put our first album on a label, but…"

"Who's that?" asked Andrew with a burst of energy.

"My cousin, Angelica. Anyway, we need to have the album done first. I need to know, when is the earliest we can all meet her with the finished product? Oh, and for the cover, let's do 'Child in Time.' It's only right, with Jon Lord's passing and all."

"Yeah, you're right, it is. Okay, I'll call everyone, and get back to you."

"Thanks, Andrew," Dil said, while he closed his cellphone.

"So what's up?" asked Tommy.

"Well, Angelica accepted my apology, and she's willing to meet my band to discuss putting our album on Pilot's label."

"That's cool!"

"Yeah! I just need to know from everybody, when we can get it done, because we need to meet her with the CD completed."

A moment later, Dil's cellphone rang again—it was Andrew. "Yeah, Andrew?"

"I talked to everyone, and everyone thought that 'Child in Time' was an appropriate cover—given the circumstances of Jon Lord's passing. Anyway, the earliest that all of us can meet your cousin would be Saturday. Also, all of us are free to come into the studio today and record the album. Are you?"

"Of course! I can be there around one."

"Okay, I'll call everybody, and we'll meet then."

"Sounds good; thank you, Andrew."

"Don't mention it."

Once Dil got off the phone with Andrew, he immediately called Angelica. However, he did turn to Tommy and said, "Give me a minute. I need to call our cousin again."

Tommy nodded.

"Hello, Dil," answered Angelica.

"Yeah, Angelica, the earliest we can meet you is Saturday. How's that?"

"Well, I normally don't work Saturdays, but I can meet you. The only problem, however, might be with Ian. I'll need to find a sitter. Hopefully, Mom and Dad will watch him."

"If not Uncle Drew and Aunt Charlotte, you can always ask my mom and dad. You know how much they love that kid."

Angelica smiled. "True."

"Anyway, when do you want us to meet you Saturday?"

"How about eleven in the morning?"

"Okay, that should be fine. We're not playing Friday night, so that should be okay."

"All right, I'll see you then—and if I don't have a sitter for Ian, he's coming with me."

Dil laughed. "Okay, sounds good."

Dil closed his cellphone.

And Tommy asked, "So what's up?"

"Looks like I'm going to be working on that album today, and my band and I are going to meet Angelica on Saturday."

"Sounds good, Dil!"

"Yeah, it does," Dil said with a smile. "Anyway, let's go to the gym and workout. You have to meet Kimi at one, and I have to meet my band at one."

* * *

The workout the Pickles brother did was practically identical—30 minutes of cardio and some weightlifting. After their workout, Dil drove them back to his apartment, where each of them took a shower. By 12:30, Tommy was ready for his interview, but there was no sign of his brother.

"Dil," he began, "what are you doing? I have to see Kimi in half an hour."

"I'm aware of that. I have to see my band in half an hour. I'm just trying to find the right shirt."

"The right shirt?"

"Yeah…Found it!"

"What makes it so special?"

"This," responded Dil, returning from his bedroom. Dil wore a Deep Purple shirt with the words 'In Rock', which featured the faces of the band members on Mount Rushmore. "This is the album 'Child in Time' is on. I thought it would be some good karma."

Tommy smirked. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Dil dropped Tommy off in the parking lot where Kimi worked. "Call me, if you need anything," Dil said. "I've got an album to create."

Tommy smiled. "Will do! Thanks, Dil."

The brothers waved goodbye, before Tommy entered the offices of _The Eagle_—the name of the newspaper where Kimi worked.

Once inside the building, Tommy was met by a gray-haired receptionist. "Hi, can I help you?" the woman said with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am, you can. I'm Tommy Pickles, and I'm here to have an interview with Kimi Finster."

"Kimi you said?"

"Well, Kimberly, but all of us have always called her 'Kimi.'"

The woman laughed. "Oh, don't worry; I know who you're talking about." Dialing a few numbers on her phone, the woman called into the receiver, "Kimi, it's Rona. There's a Tommy Pickles who's here to see you…Okay, I'll send him on his way." The woman hung up the phone, and turned to Tommy, "Walk down the hall," she began with a gesture, "and you'll find Kimi's office. It's the last one on the left—you can't miss it."

"Thank you, ma'am," Tommy said, as he left the receptionist.

* * *

Kimi's office was indeed easy to locate, and it was a simple office—containing only a desk, a computer, and a telephone. Kimi sat behind her desk wearing a gray business suit with her hair in a ponytail. When Kimi noticed Tommy, she smiled. "Hi, Tommy."

_"Damn, she's gorgeous!"_ thought Tommy. But instead, he returned the smile and said, "Hey, Kimi, how are you?"

"I'm well, thanks for asking, and thanks for coming in. Shall we get started?"

"Sure, as soon as you're ready."

"Then we'll begin," Kimi said. "Could you close the door to my office please?"

"Sure," Tommy replied, while he closed the door.

On her desk, Kimi placed a tape recorder. "Testing, one, two," she said. Kimi played the message back to make certain the recorder was working. Essentially the interview she wanted to have with Tommy was basically a 'hometown boy achieves his dream' story that she intended to turn into an article. "I find it easier to do interviews this way," she said. "Less writing and we can engage in a dialogue. Are you ready?"

"Sure am," replied Tommy with a smile.

Kimi nodded, but she also flashed a quick smile. Somehow, watching Tommy smile made her smile. Regardless of which, she pressed the recording button and said, "This is Kimi Finster interviewing a man whom I grew up with, and who graduated high school with me—Tommy Pickles."

Tommy smirked at the introduction Kimi gave him.

"Tommy, how does it feel to be back in your hometown?"

"It feels great, Kimi. It's been five months, since I've been home, and it's always great to see my friends and family again—plus it's also great to get out of LA for a while."

"Since we were kids, you always had an interest in making films. Do you have any idea, when this interest began?"

Tommy chuckled. "No, Kimi, actually I don't. I know that ironically I made my first film, if you can call it that, at the age of two. The reason I know this is because my parents saved it, and when I saw it, I actually had faint memories about making it. I guess it was in that period of my life that I had an interest in making films. That's the best answer I can give you."

"Well, regardless of where the interest came from, you were able to take that interest all the way to Hollywood, right?"

"That's correct."

"So far you've made three films, right?"

"Correct."

"How were you actually able to make it to Hollywood?"

"In many respects, it's by the grace of God. In high school, I was able to secure a scholarship in Film from the University of California, and before graduating, I was able to secure an internship with Martin Costomiris, who was my favorite director growing up. Serving under him, I was able to make a name for myself, and that allowed me to direct the three films that I have directed."

"As you mentioned already, you've directed three films. But, when we were talking the other day, you described the films as 'profitable' but not 'blockbuster.'"

Tommy nodded.

"What did you mean by that?"

"Well, before I can explain what I meant, I must point out that I have an unwritten code not to criticize any product that I'm involved in, until long after the product is finished. With that being said, the three films that I directed—_Scars_, _Twilight of the Gods_, and _Bloodstone_—didn't have very good scripts to work with, and I knew that I was already trying to climb out of a pit, before we even started shooting; and in all those films, the cast and crew did their best, and I will never criticize them. But the truth is, the scripts were horrible—absolutely horrible. But I'm a professional, and I'm going to do my job, and I'm going to expect others to do their job—which in case of those three movies, the cast and crew did. I think it was from all our hard work that we were able to at least make those movies profitable."

"Before we move on to the next question, I want to ask you something about movies like the ones you directed."

"Sure."

"You mentioned how they had these 'horrible scripts,' and I've watched plenty of movies where, when I watched the storyline, I could only keep asking myself, 'Who wrote this god-awful thing?' I guess the question I have is, why do movies like this exist?"

"Because people will buy it, that's why. I mean, look at a lot of the films Elvis starred in. While there were a few Elvis films that were actually pretty good, most of them had some of the most god-awful writing. But guess what? They all made a profit, because studio owners knew that Elvis' fans would buy tickets to watch his films, regardless of how god-awful they were."

"Well, to change the subject from 'god-awful' to something 'good', you told me the other day of the great praise that you have for what will be your next movie?"

"Yes, absolutely!"

"What's it going to be about?"

"It's going to be a movie about Nicholas and Alexandria, the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia."

"One of the reasons that you have so much praise for this movie is the script, correct?"

"Yes. When I was coming home from LA, I read pretty much the entire script on the plane. The author, Paul Massie, did an excellent job!"

"Now, I'm sure you're probably aware of this, but in the 1970s, there was a movie about Nicholas and Alexandra…"

"Oh, of course."

"How is your film going to be different from that one?"

"Well, there are a couple of answers to that question. First, we have to realize that the movie you're talking about, _Nicholas and Alexandra_, was made 40 years ago. It's not a movie that's fresh in a lot of people's minds. Second, that movie begins with the birth of Alexei, Nicholas and Alexandra's hemophiliac son, but there was plenty of drama in their lives, before the birth of their son—and our film will go into that."

"Would you be willing to let us know what kind of drama?"

"Well, just the story about how they were able to become engaged was drama enough, for example."

"I have to ask you, because I did some research on Nicholas II and Alexandra, before I began this interview with you, and I can see—at least with Nicholas—that he had some anti-Semitic leanings. Will any of that be in the film?"

"Just a little here and there."

"My next question is slightly personal, but I am curious to know the answer to this question, if you're willing to answer it. I know that you're partially Jewish, because of your mother's side. When you have to direct pieces like this, where a character hates someone's race or religion, that you, yourself happen to belong to, does it ever bother you?"

"That's a fair question, and I will answer it. While it can bother me, I just have to look it for what it is. I don't consider Nicholas II's hatred of Jews to be at the same level as Adolf Hitler's hatred of Jews. And I also realize that during that time people were not always willing to look at things through a 'color-blind lens.'"

"Finally, the last question I have is what advice would have for someone wanting to go into the film industry?"

"Be well educated in film, and understand that it take a long time before any kind of break can be given. Therefore, don't be afraid to take a job washing dishes, if need be. It's still a paycheck, and chances are you'll need one before your big break."

"Thanks for talking with us, Tommy," Kimi said with a smile.

"Thank you, Kimi," Tommy said, returning the smile.

Kimi pressed the stop button on the tape recorder and said, "Thanks again, for doing this with me, Tommy. I think it'll make a great story for our paper."

"Well, you're welcome, Kimi. So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Well, I was going to start working on the article about you…"

"So soon? Your boss wants it within a day?"

"Well, no, not within a day. It needs to be finished four days from now."

"Do you have other pieces to work on?"

"No, they're all finished."

"Kimi," Tommy said with a smile.

"Yes, Tommy?"

Tommy gestured for Kimi to come closer.

Kimi did so.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a workaholic?" Tommy whispered in her ear.

Kimi giggled.

And Tommy smiled.

"Tell you what, Kimi," Tommy began, maintaining his smile, "it's been five months, since we last saw each other, let's go out and have a drink, so I can ask you a big favor."

"A big favor?"

Tommy nodded with a grin.

"Well, what is it?"

"I can't tell you that," Tommy replied with a smile. "We need to have a drink first."

Kimi laughed. "Oh, all right…But you're buying!" she added with a grin.

Tommy chuckled. "I think I can arrange that."


	6. Have a Drink on Me, Kimi

**Author's Note: **Again, I appreciate the views and comments so far. Please keep them coming!

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter VI**

"Turn here, Kimi," Tommy said, while he gestured where he wanted Kimi to turn. "This is the place," Tommy added, as he pointed to the building in question.

"The Friendly Tap?" Kimi said. "Isn't this one of Dil's favorite places?"

"Yeah, he took me here last night. It was a pretty cool place. We had some fun."

"Oh? What did you do?" asked Kimi, while she exited her car.

"Drank, shot pool, listened to some of Dil's music," Tommy replied, as he stepped out of Kimi's car.

Kimi chuckled. "I have to ask you, do you like some of Dil's music?"

Tommy laughed, as he opened the door to the bar. "Maybe a song here and there, but that's about it."

Yesterday, when Tommy and Dil arrived at The Friendly Tap, the clientele was a lot more diverse. Yet when Tommy and Kimi arrived, they appeared to be the youngest patrons in the bar. But, on the positive side, Tommy was greeted by a familiar face.

"Hey, there!" began Eric with a smile. "Tommy's the name, right?"

"That's right," replied Tommy. "I'm Dil's older brother. And you're Eric, right?"

Eric nodded. "That's right. I've been Eric for about 42 years." Turning to Kimi, Eric added, "So you've only been back in town for a day, and you've already got a date. I'd say that's pretty damn impressive!"

Tommy laughed.

And Kimi blushed.

"Kimi's a childhood friend," began Tommy, "but I have to admit, she is kind of cute," he added with a grin.

Kimi's face became even redder.

"And I think I'm embarrassing her," Tommy said with a smile.

Eric laughed.

"I've got to say, Eric," continued Tommy, "the clientele isn't quite as diverse, as it was last night, when Dil and I came."

"That's because it's early. I actually just arrived for work, but the clientele becomes a lot more diverse within a few hours from now. Anyway, what'll it be?"

"I think I'll just have a draft of Bud Light."

Eric nodded, and turned to Kimi. "How 'bout you, ma'am?"

"Oh, I'll just have a margarita."

"Do you want salt and a lime?"

"Yes, please."

"Very well, I just need to see your ID."

Kimi showed Eric her driver's license.

"Thank you," Eric said, while handed Kimi back her driver's license.

"Oh, and, Eric?" interjected Tommy.

"Yeah, Tommy?"

"Charge both of those to me."

"Will do."

Eric handed Tommy his drink, and said to Kimi, "I'll have yours ready in a minute, ma'am."

"Thank you," Kimi said, before she turned to Tommy. "So what's this big favor you need me to do?"

"Can't tell you just yet," Tommy responded with a gulp of his beer.

"Why not?"

"Because you haven't got your drink yet."

"Here you are, ma'am," Eric said, while he handed Kimi her drink.

"Thank you," Kimi said, before she returned to Tommy. "Okay, now can you tell me?"

"No," Tommy said with a smirk.

"Why not?!" Kimi said with a look.

"Because you haven't drunk any of your margarita yet," Tommy replied, maintaining his smirk.

Kimi took a sip of her margarita. "There, now will you tell me?"

Tommy chuckled. "No."

"What?!"

Tommy laughed. "It's going to take a little more than just a sip."

Kimi took a gulp. "How 'bout now?"

"Eh?" Tommy replied with his chin between his thumb and first finger.

Kimi took another gulp. "Now?"

Tommy smiled. "Well, okay."

Kimi sighed. "Thank God, so what is it?"

Tommy took a gulp. "I was wondering, if you might give me a ride home later on?"

"That's it?! That's your big favor?"

"Well, yeah," Tommy replied, before he took another drink. "I figured that Dil's still busy creating his CD, so I thought I'd ask you."

"And you did all this, just to ask me that simple question?"

"Well, yeah," Tommy said, while he gestured for Kimi to wait, as he took another drink. "But I did have another reason for wanting to get you to come with me."

"What's that?"

"I just wanted to chat with you. We didn't get a chance to chat yesterday, because we were so busy entertaining Ian." Tommy finished the last of his beer and added, "Plus, you get a free drink out of it."

Kimi chuckled.

And Tommy smiled. "Speaking of drinks, I'm going to have another one. Would you like one more, after you're finished with that one?"

"You buying?"

Tommy maintained his smile. "I'm buying."

"Then I'll take another one…But you'd better not be trying to get me drunk!" Kimi said with a smile.

Tommy laughed. "No, I wouldn't hear of it." And turning to Eric, Tommy said, "Eric?"

"Yes, Tommy?"

"Could you get me another beer, and could you get Kimi another margarita, once she's ready for it? Once again, I'm buying."

"Sure will."

"Thanks, Eric." Returning to Kimi, Tommy said, "So how have things been, since I last saw you in May?"

"Pretty good—I've just been really busy with the paper."

"Had any guys in your life lately?"

Kimi gave Tommy a look. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Just curious," Tommy replied, as Eric placed his fresh beer before him. "Thanks, Eric," Tommy said, before he turned back to Kimi. "I didn't mean for you to take offense to it."

"No, it's okay," Kimi said, while she finished the rest of her margarita. "It's just that I get asked that question in one way or another, and sometimes I get tired of it. I've been told all the time, 'You're so pretty, Kimi. Why don't you have a boyfriend?'"

"It's true, you know," Tommy said with a smile, as Eric placed another margarita before Kimi.

"Thank you," Kimi said with a smile.

Tommy chuckled. "Was that directed at me or Eric?"

Kimi smirked. "Well, at both…"

"You are a pretty girl. You know that, don't you, Kimi?"

Kimi blushed. "Thank you." Taking a sip of her margarita, she added, "But what about you, 'Mr. Hollywood Director'—any girls in your life?"

Tommy laughed. "If I ever become like Steven Spielberg, then you can call me that." Tommy took a gulp of his beer. "As for the girls, yeah, I've dated here and there, but nothing really serious came out of those relationships."

Kimi took another sip of her margarita. "Do you think that your work affects your relationships?"

Tommy sighed. "I don't know. I mean, when I have a film to work on, I try to put all my energy into it. It could have; I don't know; but this is my profession."

Kimi nodded. "I think that my work has always prevented me from having a relationship."

"That's 'cause you're a workaholic, Kimi," Tommy said with a smile.

Kimi giggled. "Perhaps the same could be said of you, whenever you make a movie."

Tommy smirked.

And Kimi continued to giggle.

"I have to ask you, is your brother still very protective of you?"

"Not like he used to be," Kimi began, with another sip on her margarita. "He's married now, so he's mostly focused on his own wife."

"I asked Angelica about how your brother is enjoying married life, but how do you see it, Kimi, since you are his sister?"

"Chuckie's happy, but I think he's a little worried that Ashley sometimes has 'baby fever.'"

"Baby fever?"

Kimi nodded. "She wants to have kids."

"And Chuckie doesn't?"

"No, it's not that; he does. I just think he doesn't want them right now." Kimi took another sip of her margarita. "But in some respects, I find that kind of odd. I mean, he and Ashley are at home all the time. It's not like they're out partying every evening."

Tommy nodded.

"What about you, Tommy? What do you think about such ideas—marriage and family life?"

Tommy took a gulp of his beer. "It would be nice to marry and have a family, but it's not something that I dwell on." Taking another drink, he added, "What about you, Kimi?"

"I thought about things like that, when I was a little girl. Sure, it's something that I'd like to have one day, but," Kimi paused to look at the floor, "the real world isn't exactly a Walt Disney movie."

Tommy nodded, as he finished his Bud Light. "I'm going to take another one; how about you?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Kimi asked with a smirk.

Tommy laughed. "No, no."

Kimi maintained her smirk. "If I want another drink, I'll buy it this time."

"All right then," Tommy said with a smile. And turning to Eric, he added, "Eric?"

"Yes, Tommy?"

"I'll take another Bud Light."

Returning to Kimi, Tommy said, "I have something to tell you, Kimi."

"What's that?"

"Back when we were in high school, I always had a bit of a crush on you, but I never pursued it."

Kimi blushed. "How come?" she asked, before she took another drink.

"Here you are," Eric said, as he placed a new pint glass before Tommy.

"Thanks, Eric," Tommy said.

"Don't mention it."

Returning to Kimi, Tommy said, "It was your brother. I knew how much he would have hated it."

Kimi laughed. "Don't tell me you were scared of my brother?"

"I wasn't scared of him, but he was my best friend," Tommy replied, as he grabbed his new beer glass. "I wasn't about to wreck that relationship."

Kimi smiled. "What are your feelings now?"

"They're still there," Tommy said, as he took a drink. "I don't know what your feelings are, but mine haven't left me."

Kimi maintained her smile. "I always had a crush on you, Tommy, but I don't know where I stand now. I live here; you live in LA. What kind of relationship would that be?"

Tommy nodded, but as he did so his cellphone rang. "Wonder who this could be?" Tommy checked the caller ID. "It's Barry, my agent. Normally, I'd have this go straight to my voicemail, but this might be important."

Kimi nodded.

"Give me a minute."

Again, Kimi nodded, but as Tommy left The Friendly Tap, she sighed.

Outside the bar, Tommy answered his cellphone. "Hey, Barry, what's up?"

"Tommy, how goes it, man? Are you enjoying your trip to your hometown?"

"Of course, it's great to get out of LA once in a while."

"Well, the reason that I'm calling has to do with the movie about Nicholas II and Alexandra."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, it's about the time, when the studio wants to start everything—the casting and the shooting."

"Yeah?"

"As you're aware, the studio wanted everything to begin about a month from now, but then they realized a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"A month from now is Thanksgiving, and a month after that is Hanukkah and Christmas."

"Right."

"Well, the holidays are going to interfere with the casting and the shooting, so the studio wants to put everything off, until after the new year."

"Well, that's all fine and good, Barry, but somehow I have to pay the rent on my apartment and buy groceries. I can't just sit around and do nothing for two months."

"I understand that, and because you've made such a good reputation as a hard worker, the studio is willing to give you money for rent and groceries during these next two months."

"Really?" said a stunned Tommy.

"Yep! The studio is investing a lot of money into this project. There have even been suggestions about shooting portions of the movie in Russia."

"Russia?!"

"Correct! The way I see it, Tommy, from now, until the new year, consider yourself to be in 'PTO time'—paid time off."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad, Barry," Tommy said with a smile.

"I would think not. I'd love to sit on my ass for the next two months, while the checks kept entering the bank! With that being said, have some fun, relax. Maybe you'll be able to find the girl of your dreams during this downtime."

Tommy laughed. "Thanks, Barry."

"No problem, Tommy. Talk to you later."

"Same here."

Tommy closed his cellphone, and returned to the bar.

Kimi smiled, when she noticed Tommy's return. "So what's up?" she asked, while she finished her margarita.

"Well, it looks as though I'm going to be staying in town a little longer than I planned."


	7. Angelica and the Drummer

**Author's Note**: It's been a few days, since my last update, but it took me a while to work out the "kinks" in this chapter. I would like to add that I still appreciate those who have responded, those who are following, and those who have read the chapters so far.

**Always Somewhere**

** Chapter VII**

Saturdays were not days that Angelica preferred to be in her office. Saturdays were days she preferred to be with Ian. _"I wouldn't even do this, if Dil wasn't my cousin,"_ she thought. Angelica looked at her watch. The time was ten minutes until eleven, but still no sight of Dil or his band. "Dear God," murmured Angelica, "hurry up, Dil. I'd like to spend as much time today with Ian as possible."

Moments after Angelica finished her sentence, she heard a voice say, "Ah, this must be the place." The voice belonged to Dil.

Angelica sighed. "Thank God."

"Morning, Angelica," Dil said in the doorway wearing a Black Sabbath shirt that featured two angels smoking and playing cards.

"Good morning, Dil," Angelica said with a smile.

"All right, everybody, come on in," Dil said turning down the hallway with a gesture. Dil entered Angelica's office holding a CD, and behind him came four other men in their 20s—each of them with long hair and wearing metal T-shirts. Dil observed the interior of Angelica's office and said, "I don't see Ian."

"That's because he's not here," Angelica said with a smile.

"So you found a babysitter?"

Angelica nodded. "Mom and Dad agreed to look after him, while I conducted this meeting. Speaking of which, why don't we get started?"

"Oh, of course! Here's the copy of the CD," Dil said, while he handed the CD to Angelica.

Angelica took a moment to observe the CD. It was plain, but that was to be expected. If her company agreed to market Dil's band, they could certainly create a more colorful CD. "Dark Stairway: _Volume I_."

Dil smiled. "It worked for Zeppelin."

Angelica returned the smile; yet said to herself, _"But you're not Led Zeppelin."_

"Oh!" Dil began, as he turned to the other men in the room, "I need to introduce you to the members of Dark Stairway. First, let me introduce you to my blood brother, Andrew Stanislov," Dil said with a gesture. "He channels Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, and Tony Iommi every time he plays guitar."

The blonde haired-blue eyed Andrew chuckled at the introduction Dil had given him. For his meeting with Angelica, he wore an Iron Maiden shirt. "Nice to meet you," he said with a smile.

"Now this guy," continued Dil, "is our bass player—Chris Wingate. He has the God-given ability to channel Steve Harris on stage."

The dark hair and eyed bass player, wearing a Dio shirt, laughed at the description Dil had given him. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Chris said with a smile.

"Next, we have our keyboard player, James Larkin," Dil said with a gesture. "Now even though James is wearing the famous 'Rainbow: _Rising_' T-shirt, he should probably be wearing a Deep Purple T-shirt, since, like Jon Lord, he can play the shit out of the Hammond Organ, and it's through him that we covered Deep Purple's 'Child in Time' on this album, and I had to drink large amounts of alcohol to numb my vocal chords."

James laughed, but so did everyone else in the room. "Thanks, for the wonderful introduction, Dil."

"Don't mention it."

"And it's a pleasure meeting you," the brown haired-green eyed man said to Angelica.

"And last," added Dil, "we turn to the backbone of our band—our drummer, Johnny Adams. Now despite the fact that he's wearing a Metallica T-shirt, and Lars Ulrich is a great drummer, he should really be wearing something associated with Cozy Powell, since I think he channels Cozy's spirit very well. Looking at the situation, maybe James and Johnny could switch shirts, since Cozy played on the _Rising_ album."

The band members laughed.

Johnny had dark hair and eyes. Like Dil's hair, Johnny's curled at the tips. One unique feature of Johnny's, compared to the other members of the band, was that Johnny had facial hair—he had a goatee. "It's wonderful to meet you," Johnny said with a smile.

Angelica smiled. She had smiled, when each member of the band introduced themselves, but she focused on Johnny a little more. _"He's kind of cute," _she thought, _"and he looks close to my age. In fact, it almost seems as though Dil might be the youngest member of the band, but who knows?"_ Angelica leaned against her desk and said, "Nice to meet all of you." Then she grabbed the CD Dil had given her and added, "Now, what can you tell me about this CD?"

"Well, it's a heavy metal CD, in the style of power metal," responded Dil.

"Forgive me, since I don't listen to heavy metal…"

"Well, you should," interjected Dil.

The members of Dark Stairway laughed.

Angelica gave Dil a look, before she continued. "As I was trying to say, before my cousin rudely interrupted me…"

The band members chuckled.

"I don't listen to heavy metal. So, what is power metal?"

"Heavy metal has different subgenres," Andrew replied. "Some of those subgenres are what's called: 'Doom Metal', 'Speed Metal', 'Thrash Metal', 'Black Metal', 'Symphonic Metal', 'Power Metal', and 'Classic Metal.' Power metal, as I can best describe it, focuses on mystical lyrics with a powerful, heavy side."

"It also has pure vocals," added Chris.

"Pure vocals?" asked Angelica.

"Pure singing," responded Chris.

"Basically," interjected Dil, "it doesn't have the vocals that you find in a lot of Doom and Black Metal."

"There isn't any growling," added Johnny. "There isn't that god-awful 'ror, ror, ror' that you find in those genres."

Dil nodded. "And thank God for that! I can't stand that god-awful shit!"

Angelica laughed. "I thought that all heavy metal people got along?"

"Oh, for the most part we do," answered James. "But that doesn't mean we like every song, or every band, or every style. If anything, I'd say it's the classic bands like Sabbath, Zeppelin, Purple, Metallica, Dio—that kind of thing, that keeps us united."

Angelica smiled. "Well, everyone, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to bring your CD before the board on Monday. I cannot promise you that it will make it onto Pilot's label, but I'll do my best to 'sell it' to the board."

The members of Dark Stairway nodded.

"Sounds good—thank you, Angelica," Dil said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Dil." And turning to the other members of the band, she added, "Well, everyone, I need to take off from here, and pick up my son. I wish all of you a very good day."

"Oh, Angelica?" added Dil.

"Yes, Dil, what is it?"

"This evening we're going to play at Out of this World. I'm going to try and ask all the 'gang' to come and watch us play, since some of them have never seen us play before. I'd like to ask you to come as well."

Angelica sighed. "I'd honestly like to come, and see the product I'm going to be selling, but it would be impossible for me to find Ian a babysitter on such short notice."

Dil turned to the floor, before he returned to Angelica. "Tell you what, this upcoming Friday we're playing at The Nightlife. How 'bout you try to see us then, and I'll send a message to everyone else; that will give everyone plenty of 'head's up' time?"

"Okay, I can do that. I'm sure that Mom and Dad, or your mom and dad, will watch Ian."

"Sounds good—see you, Angelica, and thanks!"

* * *

On Sunday afternoons, Angelica always spent a portion of her day with Ian at the park. Besides Ian's normal playmates, Angelica would play with him. One of her favorite activities was to swing with Ian on her lap. But on this Sunday, Angelica played with Ian in the sandbox. As she did so, Angelica heard a voice that said, "Here you go, baby girl." The voice sounded familiar, and when Angelica traced it, she discovered that it belonged to Johnny—the drummer of Dark Stairway.

When Johnny noticed Angelica, he smiled. "Looks as though we meet again—it must be some odd karma."

Angelica chuckled. "Ah, the drummer from Dil's band."

Johnny chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't call it 'Dil's band', since it's technically our band, but I'm glad that you remembered me. Drummers don't often stand out as well as the guitarist and the singer."

Angelica maintained her smile. "But you stood out. You're the only member of the band that has facial hair."

Johnny laughed.

"But how come you're not wearing a metal shirt?"

Johnny laughed. "It's not like I wear those things everyday."

"That's odd. The only time that I think Dil doesn't wear one is if he's going to a funeral."

Johnny chuckled. "Well, Dil's real big into the heavy metal culture. That's one of the reasons why he's a great frontman."

"So what brings you here to the park? I somehow wouldn't expect a heavy metal drummer to come here."

Johnny laughed. "Well, on Sundays, I always spent time with my daughter, and I thought that I would take her to the park today." Johnny scooped up his daughter, so Angelica could get a good look at her. She looked to be around Ian's age with auburn hair and blue eyes. "This is Austra," continued Johnny. "Austra, this is Angelica. She's the older cousin of Dil. You know who Dil is, don't you?"

"He's the heavy metal King David!"

Johnny laughed.

So did Angelica.

"Yes, he does call himself that," added Johnny.

"Hi, Austra," Angelica said, while she scooped up Ian. "This is my little boy, Ian. Ian, would say 'hi' to Austra?"

"Hi, Austra," Ian said with a smile

"Austra," began her father, "would you say 'hi' back to Ian?"

"Hi, Ian," Austra replied, also with a smile.

Johnny placed Austra, where she would sit next to Ian. Turning to Angelica, he asked, "Think these two would play for a while?"

"I'm sure; Ian's not too shy."

Johnny smiled. "Good, there are some questions I wanted to ask you."

"All right."

Johnny kissed his daughter and said, "I'll be back in a minute, baby girl."

Angelica, likewise, kissed her son and said, "Be back in a minute, sweetie."

The two moved away from the sandbox, where they could still see their children, but could talk privately.

"So what questions did you want to ask me?" said Angelica.

"What did you think of our album?"

Angelica pondered on how to answer that question. She did not want to answer rudely, but she also wanted to tell the truth. "You do have to realize that I'm not a heavy metal fan."

Johnny nodded. "I understand."

"So, in some respects, asking me what I think of the music would be like me asking you, 'What do you think of this album from Brittney Spears?'"

Again, Johnny nodded. "I understand."

"I realize that there is a market for this music, and that is what I'm going to tell the board tomorrow. I'm sure that some of them are not fans of metal as well, but that doesn't mean that some are, since I realize the music has been around for over 40 years."

"Right."

"With that being said, I did listen to the first song…"

"Ah, 'Speed Kills'."

"Yeah, I thought it was interesting to hear my cousin sing with his band. He has a very powerful voice."

Johnny smiled. "That he does. Dil's a great singer, and a great showman. I think he has all the positive traits of Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Ian Gillan, Robert Plant, and Klaus Meine."

Angelica smiled-even though she did not know many of the singers that Johnny mentioned.

"Plus, he has his own unique style," Johnny added. "You know that song is one that Dil is very passionate about."

"Why's that?"

"Dil told me the song was about someone he knew from one of his college classes. I don't remember which one, but he told me that this particular student shot heroin at a party. From what I think he heard, this student complained that he wasn't feeling well, and he climbed into his car, and I guess he just died right there. Drug related overdose."

"You know, now that I think about it, I think Dil did mention once about something like that."

Johnny nodded. "He doesn't talk about the incident too much—except, I guess, when he's singing the song. If someone tries to bring any form of speed into his apartment, he'll tell them not to have that stuff there. He doesn't care what someone has in their home, but he doesn't want to see it in his."

Angelica nodded. "I have to ask you, when I saw you guys yesterday, I thought Dil was the youngest member of the band. Is that so?"

Johnny chuckled. "Yeah, he's kind of the 'kid' of our band, and I guess I'm kind of the 'old man' of the band, since I'm the oldest."

"How old are you?"

"26."

"Same age as I am."

"How odd," Johnny said with a grin.

Angelica giggled. "Yeah, and we both have children."

Johnny smirked. "Yeah."

"Is it hard being in a metal band with a child?"

"It's hard in any profession, I think. Of course, I don't have custody of Austra; I just see her on Sundays."

"Divorced I take it?"

Johnny shook his head. "Never married—we were going to get married, and then we broke up. But that didn't matter in my relationship with Austra. She's my daughter, and I'm going to be in her life."

"It's too bad Ian's father doesn't have the same attitude that you do."

"Does he at least give you child support?"

Angelica shook her head. "I caught him cheating with another woman, when I was pregnant. I told him that I wanted nothing to do with him. He's never bothered to contact me, and I've never bothered to contact him."

Johnny nodded. "I can understand your decision, but I would have never done what he did—and I'm not talking about the cheating thing. I'm talking about not trying to support your kid, or having some relationship in your kid's life."

Angelica smiled. "Too bad there aren't more guys like you in the world, Johnny."

Johnny returned the smile. "Thanks." After he finished his sentence, he received a text message on his cellphone. "Wonder who this could be?"

Johnny opened his cellphone to reveal a text from Austra's mother. "Looks like my father-daughter day is going to end a little bit early."

"Why's that?"

"I just received a text from her mom. She's going to need Austra back a little bit earlier than normal today. It looks as though our conversation is going to have to come to an end."

"I guess so," Angelica said with a smile, but in reality, she was sad—she truly enjoyed talking with Johnny, and hated that he was leaving.

Johnny turned to the sandbox. His daughter seemed to enjoy her time with Ian. "Austra," Johnny began, "we're going to have to go and visit Mom a little earlier than normal. I need you to say 'bye' to Ian."

"Bye, Ian," said Austra.

"And you're to say what back, Ian?" Angelica said, while she sat next to her son.

"Bye, Austra."

Angelica smiled, and she looked at Johnny, who also smiled.

"Perhaps we'll see each other again, Angelica—hopefully, this coming Friday at The Nightlife."

"Oh, of course!"

Johnny maintained his smile, while he scooped up his daughter. "Take care."

Angelica maintained her smile, as she watched Johnny walk away. She placed Ian on her lap, and kissed him. Placing her cheek gently against Ian's head, she whispered, "It's too bad your father can't be someone like that."


	8. Angelica P verses Charlotte P

**Author's Note: **Yes, I realize it has been a while. This has been a busy week. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I thought it would be better to have a "cut off." Again, I enjoy those who have read, reviewed, and are following-keep it coming!

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter VIII**

Shortly before ten o'clock on Monday morning, Angelica plugged a CD player into a socket, while the other members of Pilot's board—including her mother—drank coffee. Angelica was the youngest member of the board. The other members ranged from their 40s to their 60s.

Once the clock struck ten, the chairman of the board said, "All right, everyone, it's ten—time to begin our next order of business."

The board members sat in their respected spots at the conference table.

"For our next order of business," continued the chairman, "Angelica believes that there is a band that we should put on our label." The chairman turned to Angelica and added, "Angelica, would you please give the presentation?"

"Thank you, sir," Angelica said, as she stood before the board. "Before I discuss the band in question," she continued, "I have a question for all of you that can be answered with a show of hands. How many of you are fans of heavy metal?"

Of the eight members, one of the youngest after Angelica raised his hand.

Angelica smiled. "You're the only one, Jack?"

Jack chuckled. "I saw a lot of metal bands back in the '80s. Some I liked; some I didn't like, but I'd say that I'm a fan—at least of what I listened to back then."

Angelica nodded.

"Well," began another board member, who did not raise his hand.

"Yes, Gary?" said Angelica.

"I was at the California Jam show back in '74, and I remember watching Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, which I guess were the two 'heavy metal bands' there. I still have memories of Ritchie Blackmore destroying a TV camera and nearly setting the stage on fire. I wouldn't say that I'm a 'metal fan', but if I heard a song from the radio during that period of time, I wouldn't necessarily turn it off."

Angelica nodded. "So we have one metal fan, and one who wouldn't necessarily object to it. Anyone else?"

The other members of the board smiled, but their smile revealed an obvious answer—they were not fans of the genre.

Angelica returned their smile. "Well, let me explain my position on that question. I'm not a metal fan, but there are a lot of things that I'm not a fan of. However, just because I'm not a fan of something, doesn't mean that someone else is not a fan—or there's not a potential market for it. I'm not a fan of _Spongebob_, but I've sure bought a lot of their products to make my son happy. The point being is that there's a market for heavy metal music. I did some research on heavy metal, and discovered that there are heavy metal festivals all over the world. In our country, the biggest one most people were aware of was OzzFest, but there were, and are, many others that also take place in this country.

"Now that I've explain that, let me turn to this band," continued Angelica, while she picked up Dark Stairway's CD. "This is a band called Dark Stairway, and they are a local heavy metal band. Their style of metal is called 'power metal', which focuses on mysticism in the lyrics with power in the music. This album features nine songs—eight originals and one cover. This band has made quite a following for itself in our town and in neighboring towns. Therefore, I believe that if we get behind this band, by putting their music on our label, there is some money to be made."

The board members paused, before the chairman said, "While I'm not a fan of heavy metal, I realize that there is a market for it. The question that I have is, how can we be certain that this band, Dark Stairway, is going to produce a profit?"

"Well, they already do. I mean, they are constantly booked at various bars and clubs around town and in neighboring towns. Obviously, they are making money for the bar or club-otherwise no one would book them."

The chairman nodded. "That's a fair point."

"Have you listened to any of the songs on the CD?" asked Jack.

"I've listened to a few, yes."

"Now, I realize that you're not a metal fan, but how would you describe the songs that you've listened to?"

"They're hard, heavy—the singer has a lot of power in his voice."

Jack nodded. "As I said earlier, I realize that you're not a metal fan, but I am. So I'd like to hear some of the CD."

"Sure."

"Now you mentioned that they did a cover. Which one—I may know of it?"

Angelica opened the CD case and observed the sleeve. "Looks like the one they covered was Deep Purple's 'Child in Time'."

Jack's eyes grew wide. "They covered that one?!"

Angelica nodded. "That's what it says here."

"That…is one of the hardest songs in the world to perform. I'd like to hear it."

"Will do," Angelica said, while she placed the CD in the player, and turned it to the final track. As Dark Stairway's cover of 'Child in Time' began to play, Angelica watched the reaction of the board members—particularly Jack, since he was the most familiar with the song. The other board members seemed to enjoy the peaceful opening of the song, but their expressions changed once the music became heavier, and Dil started screaming. To these board members, it sounded as though they were hearing music from 'another world.' Jack, however, was not one of them. At various points in the song, he was trying his best not to start headbanging.

Once the song ended, Angelica turned to Jack with a smile and asked, "So what do you think, Jack?"

"How explicit can I be?"

"As explicit as you want."

"That was absolutely fucking brilliant! That song is one of the hardest to perform, and that band nailed it! Who's the singer, by the way? He's excellent!"

"Dylan Pickles."

"Any relation to you?" Jack asked with a smile.

Angelica chuckled. "Yeah, he's my cousin."

"Well, like I said, he and his band did an excellent job! I think I'd like to have a copy of that album, if I may?"

Again, Angelica chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that can be arranged. Just so you know, he and his band are going to be performing at a club called The Nightlife this Friday."

"I think I might try to get there."

Angelica smiled, and turned to Gary. "What did you think, Gary? You mentioned that you wouldn't necessarily turn heavy metal off, if you heard it."

"Well, I think that song might have been a little too heavy for me, but I'm not going to deny that the band isn't talented."

"Well," began the chairman, "I would say that if a first time listener wants a copy, there is potential profit to be made from this band. I say that we put this band on our label, and place the CD in stores around town and in neighboring towns. From there, we'll put the album on various heavy metal stations around the country and expand the market."

Angelica smiled, as she watched the other members of the board nod.

The chairman turned to her and said, "Well done, Angelica!"

Angelica continued to smile. "Thank you, sir."

"I agree," added her mother. "You did an excellent job, Angelica."

Angelica maintained her smile. "Thanks, Mom."

"Well, everyone," the chairman began, "it looks as though we have finished what were the objectives for the day. Therefore, I'd say that this meeting is adjourned."

As the board members trickled out of the conference room, Angelica remained to gather the materials she used in her presentation. Yet outside the conference room, Angelica was able to hear a conversation between her mother and Jack.

"You know," Charlotte began, "I was never a fan of heavy metal, when it first came out. I was more of a fan of Disco."

Jack laughed. "When I was in my teens, Disco was still pretty big, but I was never a fan of it. I always enjoyed the heavy rock. By the time I was in my 20s, Disco was pretty much dead."

Angelica chuckled. "But you know, I noticed something, when I was listening to Dil sing."

"Dil?"

"Well, Dylan, my nephew, but we always call him 'Dil.'"

"Ah, okay. Anyway, what did you notice?"

"Well, while I don't think I'm going to start listening to heavy metal anytime soon, I could see some of the benefits to music like that."

"And what's that?"

"Well, look at the problems young people face today—drug abuse, alcohol problems, unwanted pregnancies. Maybe music like this can fix some of those problems."

Jack laughed. "Well, considering the joke about metal is that the music is all about 'sex, drugs, and Satan', I'm not sure that it's going to solve all the world's problems. But for me at least, the music would be a lot more enjoyable."

From the conference room, however, Angelica had a different perspective on her mother's conversation. _"What is it with my mother?"_ she thought._ "Is she intentionally trying to attack me, by saying things that are absolutely ridiculous? That's it! I'm going to confront her."_

"Mom?" Angelica said, as she exited the conference room.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'd like to talk with you. Will you follow me to my office?"

"Sure, dear."

* * *

Once Charlotte entered Angelica's office, Angelica shut the door behind them. "Now dear," began Charlotte, "what is it that you want to talk to me about?"

Angelica leaned against her desk. She looked at a photograph taken of Ian last Christmas, before she turned to her mother. "I overheard your conversation with Jack about heavy metal music."

"Yes, what about it?"

"I take exception with one of the things that you said."

"And what's that?"

"You said that metal music might help stop 'unwanted pregnancies.' Thankfully, Jack saw the stupidity in such a statement. I know that you said that as an attack against me…"

"No, I didn't," interjected Charlotte.

But Angelica would have none of it. "Yes, you did, and I know that you did! Ever since I became pregnant with Ian, you've always had an axe to grind against me, and I don't understand it. Quite frankly, if it wasn't for the fact that I want Ian to have a relationship with his grandparents, I would never let you see him, due to the hostility that I sense every time I see you and Dad—but I like the fact that you're great to him, and he loves seeing you. But I just don't understand this hostility, so what is it, Mom; why is it here?"

Charlotte crossed her arms, and turned to the floor, before she returned to her daughter. "Because getting pregnant was the best and worst thing that you ever did. It was best, because you gave all of us, Ian—and I love my grandson. But it was worst, because of who you laid down with, and what it did to your personal life."

"Obviously, Seth was not the man of my dreams—although I'd never want Ian taken away from me. But my personal life? My personal life is just fine."

Charlotte shook her head. "No, it's not. You have to rely on others to help you take care of everything in your life…"

"Wait a minute!" interjected Angelica. "That's just not true. When I was little, I went to daycare just like Ian does today."

"That's because your father had a job, and I decided to go back to my job here, when you turned three Before then, I was a stay at home mom."

"So? The only thing you've told me that's different is that I was three, Ian is two, you were married, and I'm not."

"Wrong! The difference is that I had a job that I earned on my own, and you didn't."

"Excuse me! I worked hard to go back to school to get my MBA, and secure this job."

"I'll admit that you earned your MBA—although I doubt you ever would have, if someone else wouldn't have been there to watch Ian. But secure this job?" Charlotte shook her head. "I secured you this job. A girl fresh out of college with an MBA getting a seat on the board of a corporation...how often does that happen?"

Angelica said nothing.

"I was there to get it for you. You didn't earn it on your own. I used my influence to make sure that you got it. But the truth is I know that you could have earned this position on your own; yet, you didn't, and your pregnancy is the reason why. That's why I said what I said. If that bothers you, I'm sorry, but that's how I feel. I love you, and I love Ian, but that's how I feel."

"So…you're going to hold one dumb mistake I did against me for the rest of my life?"

"No, Angelica, but I don't want others making the same dumb mistake." Charlotte paused to look at the clock. "I have to leave, Angelica. I have a client to see. If you want to talk about this later, we can."

Angelica sighed. "No, Mom, I think we have talked about it enough."

"All right then," Charlotte began, as she turned to leave Angelica's office, "I'll see you later."

Angelica and Charlotte did see each other later, but not to Angelica's liking. If Angelica had to speak to her mom, it was short, and to the point, conversations. For the rest of the day, Angelica did her best to avoid her mother.


	9. Preparing for The Nightlife

**Author's Note**: This chapter is one of the longest I've written in a while. However, I doubt that will bother any of you, who have continued to read up to this point. I thank all of you who have reviewed my story, and are following my story.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter IX**

Shortly after seven in the evening, Angelica reclined on her couch watching an episode of _The Simpsons_, when her son toddled into the room wearing only a shirt and a diaper to grab a toy. Angelica smiled, as she watched Ian return to his bedroom. _"Ian reminds me a little bit of Tommy, when he was the same age,"_ she thought. Once Angelica completed her thought, her cellphone rang. The caller ID showed the number to be Dil's.

"Hey, Dil," Angelica said.

"Hey, Angelica, how are you?"

"Not too bad, more or less. I'm watching an episode of _The Simpsons_, and when it's over, I'm going to give Ian a bath. How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?! Angelica, I'm ecstatic! I got a call from Aunt Charlotte not too long ago that you're going to put my band's music on your label. I'm freakin' happy!"

Despite Dil's happiness, Angelica frowned. The reference to her mother made her frown, but Angelica was not going to express those feelings to Dil. "Well, congratulations, Dil."

"Yeah! Thank you! But I wanted to call, and thank you personally, because it was you who agreed to present it to your company—so thank you."

"Well, thank you, Dil."

"You don't sound all that well. Are you all right?"

Angelica sighed. "I'm all right, Dil—just a little tired."

"Well, all right. My band members and I are going to celebrate, and I asked some of the gang to join us as well. I'd like to ask you to join us, but I know that's impossible with little Ian and all. Are you going to come and see us this Friday?"

"I will, Dil. I asked Mom and Dad to watch Ian for the night."

"Sounds good—thanks again for all that you've done!"

"You're welcome, Dil."

"Take care, Angelica."

"Same to you, Dil."

As Angelica closed her cellphone, she sighed and turned to the ceiling. _"In all honesty, I wish that Aunt Didi and Uncle Stu would watch Ian this Friday. I would have asked them, if I wouldn't have asked my parents earlier. I realize that my mom had a big role with getting me my job at Pilot, but here's the deal. I worked hard. I've kept my position. I could just as easily be fired, and my mom couldn't do anything to stop it. I think everybody else sees that; now just why doesn't she?"_

Angelica's thoughts ended, when she felt something crawling on her. She discovered the source to be Ian. The toddler crawled on his mother's stomach and smiled. Ian patted his mother's face and said, "Sweet wittle Mommy."

Angelica laughed, before she tickled Ian, and sat upright with him on her lap. Angelica kissed her son, and thought, _"I only wish that your grandmother would say the same thing."_

* * *

On Tuesday, Tommy decided to spend the day relaxing. That morning, he climbed into the tree house he and his friends had built, when they were children. Tommy's father had treated the wood, and had placed shingles on the roof. The tree house was safe. Around ten, Tommy visited the gym he had worked out in, before he left for college. By noon, he visited Java Lava, and ordered a cup of coffee. And by one o'clock, he was reading a magazine article about Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, when his cellphone rang. The caller ID revealed that it was his brother, Dil.

"Yeah, Dil?"

"Hey, Tommy, how are you?"

"Pretty good, man—yourself?"

"Not bad, I've been calling members of the gang trying to get them to see me this Friday at The Nightlife."

"Right?"

"Well, everybody is pretty much on board, except one of them."

"And who's that?"

"Kimi. She's giving me this rant about how she doesn't think she can come, because of something having to be due with the paper. I tried to convince her otherwise, because I know the simple truth is that she works too damn hard! Chances are, what might be due on Saturday is probably already done."

Tommy chuckled. "Well, you're probably right about that, Dil."

"Anyway, I was wondering, if you could chat with her? You know, convince her to go out?"

"Well, I can certainly try. If anything, I can tell her how going out to the club will get her another story."

"Another story?"

"Yeah, a story about you and your band—local musicians make it big."

Dil smiled. "That would be nice, but at the same time it wouldn't be."

"What do you mean? You got the record deal."

"Yeah, I know, but if Kimi treats the experience like it's a story, then she's not going to have any fun. To put it another way, have you seen the Tenacious D movie, _The Pick of Destiny_?"

Tommy chuckled. "You're talking to a film major here. Not a bad movie, but it could have been a lot better."

"You know the scene, where the Jack Black kid is praying before the poster of Dio, and he…"

Tommy laughed. "You finally found a way to bring Dio into this conversation where he's legitimate."

Dio smirked. "Anyway, he mentions how 'rock is not the Devil's work; it's magical and rad.' Well, Kimi needs to experience some of that magic, and she can't do that, if she's reporting a story."

Tommy nodded. "True."

"Let her take pictures, and maybe a few notes, but just let her have some fun."

Again, Tommy nodded. "All right, Dil, I'll see what I can do."

Dil smiled. "Thanks, Tommy—oh, and, Tommy?"

"Yes, Dil?"

"Since I mentioned Dio earlier, I thought I'd leave you with one of his slogans. I think it works well with the theme we are on."

Tommy sighed. "And what's that, Dil?"

"Peace, love, and magic!"

Tommy chuckled. "Thanks, Dil."

* * *

After Tommy finished his call with Dil, he immediately dialed Kimi's phone number.

"Hello?" answered Kimi.

"Hey, Kimi, it's Tommy."

"Hey, Tommy!"

"Kimi, I want to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"Well, this Friday Dil and his band are playing at The Nightlife."

"Yes, I know that."

"Well, the whole gang is going to be there, and I want you to be there as well."

Kimi paused. "Dil's not trying to pressure you to get me to go, now is he?"

Tommy laughed. "Well, he did call me on it."

"I bet," Kimi said with a smirk.

"But he wants you to go. He told me about this article that you have due on Saturday, but, Kimi…"

"Yes, Tommy?"

"I know that you're a workaholic, and that the article is probably nearly, or almost, done."

Kimi giggled.

Tommy smiled. "Am I right, or am I right?"

Again, Kimi giggled. "It's true; it is nearly done."

Again, Tommy smiled. "Then there's no reason for you not to come out. Plus, I think coming out to the club will be the beginnings of your next story."

"My next story?"

"Yeah, you did hear about Dil's band getting the album deal with Angelica's and Aunt Charlotte's company, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Well, there you go—'Local Musicians get Record Deal.'"

"Now that is a pretty good story idea! I'm sure I could sell that."

"But you know how I think you should write it?"

"How?"

"As a fan—as someone taking in the atmosphere of the club. Take a few pictures of the scene, but then save your thoughts for later. Besides, I'm also sure you could interview the band members on a later date."

"Now I have to admit that would be quite interesting."

"Well, there is one other thing too."

"What's that?"

"I want you to come. I really do."

"Tommy…"

"So much so that I want to meet you at your apartment that eight that evening. Dil's band starts at nine."

"Is this a date, Tommy?" Kimi asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, you can call it that," Tommy replied with a smile.

"Then you'd better be there on time, because I'll be waiting for you."

Tommy chuckled. "Don't worry, I will."

"See you then, Tommy," Kimi said with a smile.

"See you then as well, Kimi," Tommy said, before he closed his cellphone.

* * *

Throughout the work week, Angelica did her best to avoid her mother, but she did talk to her on Friday—to remind her that she would bring Ian around five that evening. When five o'clock arrived, Angelica was at her childhood home with her son. She placed Ian and his diaper bag with her parents in the living room, while she entered her former bedroom. Angelica had left a number of her clothes in her former bedroom, and now she was trying to find the right shirt to wear for the evening. Eventually she found it—an old OzzFest shirt that a former boyfriend had given her. Removing her present shirt, Angelica slipped on the OzzFest one, and observed herself in a mirror.

Angelica smiled. "Still looking great, despite having a baby. Of course, running after Ian and working out certainly helps."

When Angelica returned to the living room, she found Ian on his grandmother's lap.

When Charlotte noticed Angelica, she smiled. "So, did you find what you were looking for?"

"Sure did! I found this shirt Brian gave me, back when we were dating. It still fits! Running after Ian and working out has kept me in great shape."

Charlotte maintained her smile. "Well, that's wonderful, dear."

"Yes, it is," Angelica said with a smile, while she sat next to her mother and son. Conversations like this were something Angelica truly missed. "I thought this shirt would be a great one to wear with a metal band playing."

"You know that I want to hear all about it?"

"Oh, of course! I'll tell you."

"Also, you know that Jack might come by the club?"

"No, really?"

Charlotte nodded. "He really liked Dil's CD that he wants to see the band live."

"Well, I hope that he comes by." Angelica paused to look at a clock. "Well, I think that I should leave, so I can get ready. Might I see my boy real quick?"

"Oh, of course!" Charlotte replied, while she handed Ian to his mother.

"Ian," Angelica began, "Mommy's going to be away for the evening to watch your cousin, Dil, play. You're going to spend the night with grandma and grandpa. You can be a good boy for them, right?"

"…I wanna see Dil play!" the blue-eyed boy responded.

Angelica and Charlotte laughed.

"I'm afraid not this time," Angelica said with a kiss. "But I'll tell you what. How about I leave a CD of Dil singing with his band that you can listen to?"

"Okay," the boy said with a smile.

"Good," Angelica said, as she returned the smile. "And you can be a good boy for grandma and grandpa, right?"

"Yeah!"

Angelica maintained her smile, while she gave her son another kiss, and placed him on the floor. "Good, I'll make sure to call you before bed." And turning to her mother, Angelica added, "Do you have a copy of Dil's CD?"

"Yes, I have one that I placed on the stereo. Don't know, if I'll ever play it much."

"Well, make sure that when you play it for Ian, you don't turn it up too loud."

Charlotte laughed. "Don't worry, I won't."

Angelica smiled. "Good. I'll make sure to call you, before Ian goes to bed."

* * *

Around eight o'clock, Tommy arrived at Kimi's apartment, and Kimi answered the door. But when she did, she chuckled.

"What is it?" asked Tommy.

Kimi gestured to Tommy shirt. He wore a Black Sabbath shirt. "Never seen you wear one of those before."

"It's Dil's. He told me that I should wear a rock shirt for this show. Since I can talk about Black Sabbath, if asked, I chose to wear this shirt."

Kimi smiled. "Come in."

Tommy did as Kimi requested.

"I need to change quickly," Kimi added. "If you want to fix yourself a drink, I have some bourbon on the counter."

Kimi departed for her bedroom, while Tommy fixed a drink of blended whiskey and ice. Sipping on the bourbon, Tommy observed some of the objects Kimi had in her living room. One object that stood out to him was a picture of Kimi and Chuckie, when they were little. The picture made him smile.

"Hey, Kimi?" Tommy said.

"Yes, Tommy?" Kimi responded from her bedroom.

"How old were you and Chuckie in this photograph?"

"Which one?"

"The one on your bookshelf, when you were little kids."

"Oh, that one! I think I was three, and Chuckie was four."

Tommy took another sip, while Kimi exited her bedroom.

"So, how do I look?" Kimi asked.

Tommy almost returned the bourbon to his glass. Kimi stood before him wearing a black tank top and jeans. "You look great, Kimi," Tommy said with a smile. But in his thoughts, Tommy was truly saying, _"Damn! She's gorgeous!"_

Kimi returned the smile. "Thanks. Do you mind, if I fix myself a quick drink? I think we have plenty of time."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks," Kimi said, before she gestured to her couch. "Why don't you have a seat, Tommy?"

"Sure."

Tommy sat on the couch, while Kimi fixed a bourbon and 7up with her back to Tommy. As Tommy watched her, he thought, _"I'd love to have my hands all over that ass!"_

With her drink finished, Kimi sat on the couch next to Tommy. But in his thoughts, Tommy added, _"I'd really love it, if she sat on my lap right now."_

"So," Kimi began, while she took a drink, "have you ever seen Dil's band play before?"

Tommy took a sip, and shook his head. "No, I haven't. I think Dil sent me a YouTube video that someone had posted of his band playing, but that's the closest I've seen to seeing them live. However, I did listen to his CD. What about you?"

Kimi smiled. "I'm a 'workaholic,' remember? I never get out."

Tommy chuckled. "Right, how stupid of me."

"However," continued Kimi, "Chuckie has seen them before. He likes some of Dil's music."

Again, Tommy chuckled. "How about his wife?"

"Uh, not so much—although, Dil did a favor for her once."

"What was that?"

"One time, when Chuckie and Ashley went out to see Dil's band play, they performed a Zeppelin song. Ashley likes Led Zeppelin."

Tommy finished the last of his bourbon. "How nice of him."

Kimi smiled and nodded.

Tommy set his empty glass on a coaster, and turned to a clock. "Oh, shit!"

"What? What is it?"

"It's 8:30. We should get going. How much left do you have of that drink?"

Kimi responded by 'slamming the drink.' "None," she said with a smile.

_"Damn!"_ thought Tommy. _"And she was worried about me getting her drunk just a few days ago."_

"Well," Kimi began, as she left the couch to grab her jacket, "shall we go?"

"We shall!" Tommy replied with a smile.


	10. Dark Stairway Live!

**Author's Note**: I often wonder, if my next chapter is going to the longest that I've written up to this point. Well, this chapter has achieved that status. It has been the previous longest chapter by about six pages. But since you've stayed with me so far, I doubt that I will bore you too much. Thank you to everyone who has been following and reviewing this story!

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter X**

About ten minutes until nine, Tommy and Kimi arrived at The Nightlife, and Tommy paid the $5 cover for each of them. Observing the 'head count', Tommy thought there were around 100 people. The Nightlife consisted of two rooms. The first room was the bar area. Despite being a night club, the bar at The Nightlife was smaller than bars found at most taverns. To compromise, the owners created a 'second bar' to the right of the first, but it featured no bartender. Therefore, patrons simply placed their drinks on it. On the ceiling were flags of various countries, and dollar bills that patrons had signed and stapled to the ceiling. The second room featured the stage, where Tommy knew he would be spending most of his evening.

"Been a while, since I've been here," Tommy said.

"Do you remember the last time you were here?" asked Kimi.

"Hmm, maybe a year ago or so—I don't really remember."

"Hey, Tommy! Kimi!" a voice called.

Tommy and Kimi turned to the voice. It was Phil, who gestured for Tommy and Kimi to join him. Phil sat in a booth, with the other members of 'the gang': Lil, his sister; Chuckie and Ashley Finster; and Susie Carmichael.

"Hey, Phil!" Tommy and Kimi responded universally.

"Give us a minute," said Tommy, as he turned to Kimi. "We need a drink first."

"I agree," Kimi said with a smile.

"They're on you though," added Tommy with a smirk.

"Oh, how 'gentlemanly' of you," Kimi said, also with a smirk.

Tommy laughed. "Don't worry; I'll buy you the first one."

Tommy ordered a Bud Light, while Kimi ordered a bourbon and 7up. Once the two received their drinks, they joined Phil and the other members of the gang.

"Good to see all of you guys again," Tommy said.

"Same with you, Tommy" said Chuckie.

"But I have to say," Tommy began with a chuckle, "you two didn't raid Dil's closet, did you?" Tommy's question was directed at Chuckie and Phil. Chuckie wore an Iron Maiden shirt. Phil wore a Metallica shirt.

Phil laughed. "Na, I've had this shirt for a couple of years. I like Metallica."

"Same here," added Chuckie. "The shirt's mine—I love Iron Maiden."

"Speaking of shirts though, Tommy, I don't think I remember any Black Sabbath coming out of your room, when we were in high school," Phil said, while he gestured to Tommy's shirt with a smirk. "Dil's yes, but not yours—so where did you get the Black Sabbath shirt?"

Tommy returned the smirk. "Where do you think?"

The gang laughed.

"Dil told me that I should wear a rock shirt to this gig, and he told me that I should pick one out of his closet. I chose the Sabbath shirt, because, if someone asked me, I could talk about Black Sabbath. I'm not a diehard fan, but I like a few songs."

"Which ones?" asked Chuckie.

"'Iron Man,' 'Paranoid', 'Children of the Sea', 'Heaven and Hell'."

"Couple of Ozzy and Dio songs in there it sounds like."

"I think the difference between Dil, Chuckie, and I," began Phil, "is that we're not quite into the metal lifestyle like Dil is, but we enjoy the music."

"Unlike you, right, Susie?" Tommy asked with a smirk.

Susie laughed. "I wouldn't say that I 'hate it.' When you're someone like me, who's involved in music, you learn to see positives and negatives about all forms of music."

"Unless you're Dil."

Again, the gang laughed.

"No, Dil's obsessed with his music," continued Susie, "and it's a music that while it has a devout fan base, it's not really 'pop culture.' But then again, hasn't Dil always been the guy who goes against the norm?"

The gang chuckled.

"I guess when Dil was 14; he gave up one obsession for another," said Tommy.

"From aliens to heavy metal music," added Lil. "Of course, I still wonder, if me and Phil accidentally dropping him on his head, when he was little, contributed to his personality?"

"I doubt it," answered Tommy. "Mom always thought it was something genetic from Dad's side of the family."

Again, the gang chuckled.

"Speaking of Dil," began Tommy, "shouldn't he and his band be starting soon?"

"Not until 9:30," responded Phil.

"Why's that?"

"Something with a sound check, I'm not exactly sure what."

"To change the subject a little bit, Tommy," began Chuckie, "it looks as though you were able to get my sister out of the house."

"Yeah," Tommy said, while he wrapped an arm around Kimi's shoulders, and pulled her close.

Kimi blushed.

"It took a little 'coercion', but I was able to get her to come out."

Tommy removed his arm from Kimi, and observed Chuckie. He was curious to know what reaction Chuckie would have—to see if he was still the protective older brother. Yet, Chuckie merely smirked, and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist. By contrast, Kimi placed a hand on Tommy's thigh.

_"Well, that's a good sign,"_ thought Tommy. But verbally, he said, "Speaking of people, where's Angelica? I thought she was going to be here tonight, or did something come up with Ian, where she couldn't get out of the house?"

"Oh, she's here," answered Lil. "She's chatting with this guy—Jack. He's one of the board members of her company. Seems like a nice guy too. Angelica told us that he had a big influence in Dil getting his record deal."

"Now, I can only hope for the same thing," added Susie.

"You mean from Jack?" asked Tommy.

"Not just him, but from anyone on that board—I'm hoping that someone will really like my album, and give me what Dil's got."

"I think you'll be fine, Susie," said Phil. "You've got Angelica on your side for this one. Plus, your music is more mainstream, unlike Dil's. I'm actually surprised that, in some respects, Dil was able to get Pilot's support."

"On the subject of Dil," began Tommy, while he turned to Chuckie and Ashley, "Kimi tells me that you've seen Dil a few times."

"We have," said Ashley.

"How would you describe him?"

"Loud, heavy," answered Chuckie. "But he's very good. Dark Stairway is a great band. I know that Ashley especially liked the Zeppelin song that they did for her."

"Oh?"

Ashley nodded. "I asked, if they would perform something from Zeppelin, because I love Led Zeppelin, and Dil actually performed 'Stairway to Heaven.' He told me later that he thought the crowd might kill him, because, as he put it, 'there are some songs you're not supposed to perform', but he said that he did so for me." Ashley took a sip of her drink and added, "He did an excellent job, by the way."

"Well, on this same subject, I think that I should go and see Dil. Do any of you know where he's at?"

"He's in the back," gestured Phil. "There's a hallway next to the bathrooms. When you go down there, you'll see these additional rooms. They are mostly used by the staff, but bands occasionally use them."

Tommy nodded. "Okay, sounds good." And turning to Kimi, he added, "Want to go with me, Kimi?"

"Sure, why not."

"By the way," began Phil, "just so you know, when you come back, we probably won't be sitting here. We intend to move closer towards the stage in a few minutes."

"Okay, well, we'll see you around there then."

* * *

When Tommy and Kimi left the table, Tommy placed his hand in Kimi's. Kimi did not object. Instead, she smiled. Tommy returned the smile. When the two passed the bar, Kimi said, "Would you care, if I got myself another drink?"

Tommy prepared to respond to Kimi, but he stopped, when he noticed his cousin talking to the man whom Lil identified as 'Jack.' "Sure, go ahead," answered Tommy. "I think I'm going to talk to my cousin for a bit."

"All right, see you in a few."

Once Kimi left for the bar, Tommy turned to his cousin. Angelica was deep in conversation with Jack, and did not even notice that Tommy stood nearby. "Nice shirt, Angelica," Tommy said with a smile.

Angelica ceased her conversation. When she noticed her cousin, she smiled. "Oh, hey, Tommy!"

"You didn't steal that from Dil's closet, did you?" Tommy asked with a smirk.

Angelica returned the smirk. "The only one who did that is you, Tommy. I've seen Dil wear that Black Sabbath shirt before."

Tommy chuckled. "Okay, you got me."

Angelica smiled. "This shirt came from an ex-boyfriend."

"Who Seth?"

Angelica grinned. "With the exception of Ian, I burned everything that he gave me."

Tommy laughed.

So did Jack.

"Oh, I should introduce you," Angelica said, as she turned to Jack. "Jack, this is my cousin, Tommy. He's Dil's older brother."

"Pleased to meet you," Jack said, while he shook Tommy's hand.

"Same here—I happened to hear that you may have had a big influence with my brother getting his album deal."

Jack laughed. "I don't know about that. I'm just one member with one vote. But I did like his cover of 'Child in Time', and when I listened to the entire album, I absolutely loved it!"

Tommy smiled, but he became distracted, when he felt something crawling up his spine. The source was Kimi's fingers.

Tommy's smile grew wider, as he grabbed Kimi's hand. "What did you get this time?"

"Same as before, it's on special."

"Really? I didn't know that. I'm surprised they didn't tell me, when I bought the first one."

_"Well," _thought Angelica, _"it looks as though the crush they had from high school never completely faded…_Jack," continued Angelica, "this is a childhood friend of ours, Kimi."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jack," he said with a nod. "But based on how you two are holding hands, I'd say that you're a little more than childhood friends."

Tommy chuckled.

And Kimi giggled.

"Anyway," began Tommy, "we're on our way to the back to see Dil before the show starts."

"You know, I'd like to have the opportunity to meet him," said Jack.

Angelica nodded. "Perhaps we should all go to the back."

* * *

As Phil mentioned earlier, the back rooms of The Nightlife were mostly used by the staff. Two of the rooms were an employee bathroom and office. However, during busy hours, the staff generally avoided the back rooms. The idea behind this was that if drunk patrons never noticed any staff members going into the back rooms, they would have no curiosity of what might potentially be there. Bands, however, were given access to the back rooms, if they desired to use them. Most did not. Dark Stairway, however, was an exception—or at least Dil was an exception. Dil did not wear his 'street clothes', when he performed. Instead, Dil wore a black and scarlet robe with an opening of lace around the chest that exposed his Star of David and crucifix necklaces. When Tommy discovered him, Dil sat in a chair drinking a Bud Light with his feet reclining on a bench.

"Is the robe for Halloween?" asked Tommy.

Dil turned and smiled. "Nope, the robe is for all the time."

"You mean you wear it every time you perform?"

Dil maintained his smile and said, "Of course."

"How come?"

Dil took a gulp of his beer and said, "Because it scares the shit out of people—it shocks them."

Everyone laughed.

"I take it you already had your half a joint?" added Tommy.

"Sure did, and now I'm having my beer." Dil took another drink of his beer and added, "Looks like you were able to convince Kimi to come out."

"Sure did," Tommy said, while he wrapped an arm around Kimi's waist.

_"Somehow I think it didn't take much convincing,"_ Dil said to himself with a smile. "You're going to have a rocking good time tonight, Kimi."

Kimi returned the smile. "I hope so, Dil. What's it going to sound like tonight?"

Dil grinned. "It's going to be hard; it's going to be heavy; and you're going to enjoy it."

Kimi chuckled.

"Dil!" interjected Angelica.

"What's happening, Angelica?"

"I've got someone I want you to meet."

"Must be the guy in the room that I'm not familiar with," Dil said with a gesture.

Jack chuckled. "Well, yeah, that would be me."

"This is Jack," Angelica said, while she gestured to him. "He's one of Pilot's board members."

"Nice to meet you, Jack," Dil said, as he shook Jack's hand.

"I think he was instrumental in your band getting on Pilot's label," added Angelica.

Jack laughed. "Well, I don't know about that. As I've said before, I'm just one man with one vote—but I did love your version of 'Child in Time.' In fact, I loved your whole album."

"Well, thank you," Dil said with a smile.

"With that being said, I do have a request for you."

"What's that?"

"What are the chances of you performing 'Child in Time' this evening?"

Dil laughed. "Well, we weren't planning on performing it this evening, but since you asked, we'll perform it."

Jack smiled. "Thanks."

Dil returned the smile and added, "But it's going to cost me another beer. I'm going to need my lungs strong for that one."

Jack laughed. "Tell you what; I'll buy you a beer, since you agreed to perform the song for me. Would you follow me to the bar?"

"Of course!" responded Dil, but as he began to follow Jack, he turned to Tommy, Kimi, and Angelica. "I'll see you guys in the crowd. When I finish this upcoming beer, I'll be ready to sing."

"Sounds good," said Tommy. After Dil left with Jack, Tommy turned to Kimi and Angelica. "We might as well locate the rest of the gang, since Phil told me they were going to be closer to the stage once the band starts."

"Might as well," said Angelica.

Angelica followed Tommy and Kimi outside of Dil's dressing room, but as she did so, she heard a voice say, "Hey, Angelica."

Angelica turned. The voice belonged to Johnny, the drummer.

"Nice to see you again," added Johnny. "And, oh, hey, Tommy!"

"Hey, Johnny, how are you doing?" said Tommy.

"Pretty good—we're just getting ready to perform. I take it that you came back to see Dil?"

"Yeah, thought I'd say 'hello' to him, before he started playing."

Johnny nodded. "Who is this that you have with you?"

"This is Kimi," replied Tommy, as he wrapped an arm around Kimi's waist. "She's a long time friend."

Johnny chuckled. "Well, I can see that."

Tommy returned the chuckle, and Kimi blushed.

"How is it that you two know each other?" asked Angelica.

"We met at The Friendly Tap on Monday, when we were out celebrating. I'm glad to see that you were able to come out this evening. I hope that we give you a great show."

"I'm sure you will," Angelica said with a smile.

* * *

The table, or tables, where the gang sat were benches along the wall, but they provided a great view of the stage. Jack joined the gang—sitting next to Angelica. Shortly after Jack arrived, the members of Dark Stairway left the area around the bar, and began to take their respected positions on the stage. Dil was not among them.

"Where's Dil?" asked Tommy.

"He's still drinking that beer I bought him," replied Jack. "He also finished talking to all the members of the band—telling them about my request. They seem like good people; I chatted with them for a bit."

As Jack finished his sentence, Andrew, Dark Stairway's guitarist, left the stage for the bar area with a cordless microphone. Once Andrew returned to the stage, The Nightlife patrons heard the word 'Hell!' over the microphone. The voice belonged to Dil, as he slowly walked to the stage repeating the word 'Hell!". Finally, when Dil stepped on the stage, he shouted, "Hell of Disillusion!" And Dark Stairway began playing a cover of Grave Digger's 'Hell of Disillusion.' After the Grave Digger cover concluded, it was followed by a cover of Rainbow's 'Kill the King', which was followed by two original songs from Dark Stairway—'Speed Kills' and 'Phantom Train'.

Once 'Phantom Train' concluded, Dil gave the crowd a double headbanger salute, while the patrons returned the salute and cheered. "Everyone, thank you! I have some news to report. We…"

Dil ceased his announcement, when he noticed a woman shouting a number of obscenities at a man in the bar area, while she was being removed by the bouncers. The fact that Dil paid attention to the scene resulted in others paying attention to the scene.

Dil smiled. "Now for those of you, who don't speak bitch or Republican…"

Many of the patrons laughed.

But a few glared—such as Ashley Finster.

"You're in luck," continued Dil. "I'm here to act as your interpreter. Now essentially, this particular woman is being tossed from the bar, because she's a little too drunk. But what brought this on? Was it the alcohol? No, not so. Chances are it wasn't just the alcohol; chances are she was trying to win back her ex-boyfriend. Chances are also good that she showed off her thong a few times too and usually that works. But, in this case, there was a problem. You see, her former boyfriend has come to the conclusion that she's a crazy bitch, and no amount of ass showing would win him back. But is she about to give up? Of course not! Therefore, she continued to drink more, and more, and the level of psychoticness just increased more and more with each drop. This, of course, leads to one speaking 'Bitch', which is essentially a loud rambling of obscenities. Now then, I hope all of you have enjoyed this brief trip through the mind—courtesy of Dil Pickles."

The patrons laughed, and many applauded. Even Ashley Finster giggled.

Outside the club, however, the woman in question began to pound on the glass, and yell the words 'fuck you' at Dil, while showing her affection for him through her index finger.

As the bouncers began to force her to leave the area, Dil grinned, and presented the woman with a headbanger gesture. "Dearest, if anyone's going to 'fuck me' tonight, I can promise you that it won't be you; and, chances are, if you ever did get the chance to 'fuck me', it would be very one sided. Now, I can only hope that it would be one of those 'illegitimate rapes', and the Congressman from Missouri is right, and women know how to properly shut down their bodies."

Once again the patrons laughed and applauded—even conservatives like Ashley could not help but find Dil's commentary funny.

Dil smiled. "Now then, what was I going to say? I got distracted."

Again, the crowd laughed.

Once again, Dil smiled. "Ah, yes! I remember now. I wanted to tell all of you that Dark Stairway is going to have its first album coming out on the Pilot label that we hope all of you buy, or, hell, maybe some of you will steal it."

For the fourth time, the crowd laughed.

Angelica, however, was not one of them. "We want them to buy the album, Dil," she muttered—but she did notice Jack was chuckling.

"Anyway," continued Dil, "you will discover the album as Dark Stairway _Volume I_. And if it worked for Led Zeppelin, it can work for us too."

Many in the crowd chuckled.

"The album features eight original pieces—two of which we have already performed—and one cover. We originally didn't plan on performing this cover tonight, but when I was asked about performing this particular cover by one of the people who helped make this album happen, I knew that it would be nearly impossible to refuse. The other members of the band saw my logic and agreed. Therefore, we shall perform it tonight for him and for all of you. This one is dedicated to the great Jon Lord, whom I ask you, James, if you can, to channel him to begin the opening."

James smiled, as he began the opening notes to 'Child in Time'. Those who were unfamiliar with the song enjoyed the opening, while those familiar with the song wondered if Dil could sing it. At the end of the song, both sides were impressed. Those who had not heard the song thought that they were listening to music from another world, while those who had heard the song thought that Dil had done an amazing job.

At the conclusion of 'Child in Time', Dil said, "We're going to take a short break." After he finished his statement, Dil turned to his bandmates. "I need another beer to calm my vocal chords."

* * *

"Thanks, Jared," Dil said, after the bartender placed a Bud Light before him. Once Dil took his beer bottle, he decided to place it on the second bar. Dil intended to join the other members of the gang, but he wanted to chat with some patrons first, who complimented him and his band.

"Hey, Dil," Jack said, as he approached him.

"Oh, hi, Jack."

"Just wanted to let you know that you did an awesome job! I loved your original songs, and the covers that you did—especially 'Child in Time'. Thanks for doing that for me."

Dil took a large gulp of his beer. "Well, you're welcome, Jack—although my vocal chords sure took a pounding singing that song."

Jack laughed. "Well, thanks again! I'm actually going to head out, once I finish what's left of my beer, but I wanted to thank you again, before I left."

Dil took another drink. "Heading out kind of early, don't you think?"

Jack chuckled. "If I wasn't married, or had kids, I'd probably stay out later, but, you know…"

Dil nodded. "I understand, Jack. But I'm glad that you came out, and we were able to entertain you."

"I'm glad that I did come out. Thanks again!" Jack said, as he shook Dil's hand.

After Jack left, Dil prepared to leave the second bar, and visit his childhood friends, when a question stopped him. "Why are you wearing a robe?"

Dil turned. The voice belonged to a pretty girl with auburn hair and brown eyes. He smirked. "Because it scares the shit out of people. People need to be scared once in a while, don't you think?"

The girl giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes," Dil said with a smile. "Did you just arrive, or did you watch us perform?"

"Oh, I watched you perform. You're a great singer! Your music is a little different from what I listen to, but I enjoyed it."

Dil maintained his smile. "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Dezirae."

"Unique name, I'm Dil."

Dezirae chuckled. "That's also kind of unique."

Dil smirked. "Well, it's short for 'Dylan', so I don't know."

"How long have you been playing music?"

"Since I was 15. I taught myself how to play guitar, but singing is my true strength."

"Obviously," Dezirae said with a smile. "How old are you now?"

"22—yourself?"

"21," Dezirae said. "Just turned 21."

"Today?"

Dezirae nodded with a smile.

"Well, happy birthday! Want me to buy you a drink?"

"Sure, if you want."

"It's hard to say 'no' to such a pretty girl," Dil said with a grin.

Dezirae giggled.

"What do you want?"

"A margarita."

Dil smiled. "Come with me real quick."

Dil gestured Dezirae to follow him to the bar. Once they arrived, Dil said, "Jared, would you make her a margarita?"

"Sure, Dil."

"Oh, and, Jared?"

"Yeah, Dil?"

"I'm buying."

Jared chuckled. "Okay, Dil."

While Jared prepared the drink, Dil turned to Dezirae. "I take it you're here with friends tonight, since I doubt you'd be celebrating your 21st birthday alone?"

"Yeah, I am," Dezirae replied, while she gestured to where her friends sat. Dezirae was with two girls, who looked to be around the same age as she. Both were very pretty—one with blonde hair, the other with dark hair. Dil guessed them to be around 21 to 23.

The two girls smiled and waved at Dil. He responded by giving them a headbanger gesture. The girls giggled. Dil could tell that they did not know what to think of it, but he smiled.

Once Dezirae received her drink, Dil said, "Well, we're about to start again. I hope that you and your friends will stay around for the rest of the show. But if not, happy birthday."

"Thank you! And trust me; we'll be staying around for the show. Or at least I will."

Dil smiled. "Then I hope to see you, after our next set."

* * *

Dark Stairway played two more sets, and during the breaks, Dil would talk briefly with Dezirae and her friends, Nichole, the blonde headed girl, and Rachel, the dark haired girl. But mostly his focus was on Dezirae. Dil's childhood friends did not seem to mind, since Tommy informed them of what Dil was doing after the first set.

During the final set, Dark Stairway closed with one of their original pieces; a song that bore their name—'Dark Stairway'. Once the song concluded, Dil said, "Thank you, and goodnight!"

But as he did so, he gestured for his bandmates to wait. Dil could sense the mood of the crowd. They wanted just one more song. "Just one more, perhaps?"

The crowd cheered, and many gave the headbanger gesture.

"Just one more, eh?" Dil said with a smirk. "I wonder what it should be?" Dil placed his chin between his thumb and first finger, and began to sing the words, "Heavy metal."

Many in the crowd cheered. They knew what song Dil was singing.

"Heavy metal breakdown…" added Dil.

Again, many in the crowd cheered.

Dil smiled. "Why not? Here's a little 'Heavy Metal Breakdown' to end the night."

When Dil finished his sentence, Dark Stairway began to perform a cover of Grave Digger's 'Heavy Metal Breakdown'. Once the song concluded, Dil said, "We began with a song from Grave Digger, and now we end with a song from Grave Digger—goodnight, everyone!"

As patrons began to pay their tabs and leave, Dil looked for Dezirae and her friends. But before he could find her, one of the regulars stopped him. "Dil!"

"Oh, hey, Mike," replied Dil, as he tried to locate Dezirae.

"Got a message for you."

"What's that?" asked Dil, while he was still trying to locate Dezirae.

"We've got a major after-hours party happening at my place. You and the band should come. And if you know some really cool people, you can bring them along too."

"Well…"

"Hey, there!" a voice said, while something moved along Dil's spine.

Dil turned. The voice belonged to Dezirae. He smiled. "Hey, Dezirae! Want to go to an after-hours party?"


	11. Angelica and The Drummer: Part II

**Author's Note**: As I was writing this chapter, I began to notice just how long it was becoming. Therefore, I decided to divide it. This particular chapter will focus mostly on Angelica.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XI**

Dezirae and her two friends were more than happy to go to the after-hours party. Likewise, so were Dil's bandmates. "Now I just wonder if the gang wants to go?" said Dil.

"The gang?" asked Dezirae.

"My brother, cousin, and a bunch of our friends from childhood—why don't you come meet them real quick?"

"Okay."

Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel followed Dil into the stage area of The Nightlife. The gang was still present, but they were beginning to leave the area to pay their tabs.

"Hey, everyone," said Dil.

"Oh, so now you decide to join us," Phil said with a grin.

Dil returned the grin. "Sorry, I got distracted."

"I can see that," added Phil.

"Anyway, I've got some people that I want you to meet." Dil turned to the ladies, and gestured to each of them respectfully. "This is Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel."

Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel said 'hello' to Dil's friends, while they returned the message.

"Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel," began Dil, "these are the gang members." Dil gestured to each one of them, while he began his introduction. "First, I start off with my brother, Tommy; my cousin, Angelica; then my childhood friends: Chuckie and his wife, Ashley; Phil and his sister, Lil; Chuckie's sister, Kimi; and Susie."

Again, Dezirae, Nichole, and Rachel said 'hello' and the 'hellos' were returned.

"Now, Dezirae here, she's celebrating her 21st year of life on the planet," Dil added, while he made an inverted headbanger gesture, and placed it on Dezirae's head.

Dezirae blushed, and when Dil removed his hand, she grabbed it, and locked it into her own.

_"Lucky Dil,"_ thought Phil. _"But her two friends are also hot!"_

"And Dezirae here," continued Dil, "she's going to party a little bit more. One of the regulars here has invited us to an after-hours party at his place. I'm going; my band members are going; the girls are going; but are you guys going?"

The gang paused, before Tommy replied, "Yeah, I'll go. What about you, Kimi?"

"Sure, I'll go; it might give me a chance to talk to some more of the band members."

Dil chuckled. "Just so you girls know, Kimi writes for our newspaper, _The Eagle_. She's doing a story on us, but tonight isn't the time to worry about interviews. Tonight is a night to have fun."

Kimi smiled. "Okay," she said with a nod.

"I'll go," said Phil; but to himself, he added, _"If those two cute girls are going, I'm definitely going!"_

Dil nodded, before he turned to Lil. "How about you, Lil?"

"I don't have to work tomorrow, so sure, why not."

Dil smiled, as he turned to Susie. "What about you, Susie? Want to party with all us metal heads?"

"Is that heavy metal music going to be blaring?"

"Could be," Dil replied with a smirk.

Susie sighed. "How much booze do you have?"

"You know, that's a damn good question." Dil turned to the bar area and added, "Hey, Mike!"

"Yeah, Dil?" Mike said, while he approached Dil.

"How much booze do you have at this party?"

"More than plenty—we got a bunch of kegs and liquor bottles earlier this week real cheap. They were practically giving the shit away. That's why we're having this party."

"Okay, sounds good; I just wanted to know." Dil returned to Susie and said, "Well, you got your answer—now what?"

Susie sighed and grinned. "Well, if my friends are going, I think I should go to. If anything, I can drink my way through the music."

The gang laughed.

And Dil smirked, before he turned to Chuckie and Ashley. "How 'bout you two?"

"Well, what do you say, Ashley?" asked Chuckie.

"Well…"

"Yes?"

"I don't have a problem going; I'm just a little worried about getting home."

"If anything you can crash on the floor," said Dil. "That or you can leave the place at four—that's when the cops change their schedules."

"I say we go," said Chuckie. "We haven't gotten out much, since we've been married."

"Well…"

"Ashley, I'll play some Led Zeppelin for you," Dil added with a smile.

Ashley grinned. "How 'bout some Tom Petty?"

Dil laughed. "Well, that certainly through me for a loop. But I'm sure that Mike probably has some Petty lying around. If not, there's always the power of YouTube."

"You know, I like some Tom Petty," interjected Dezirae.

"Well, then, we'll definitely play some! Who knows, maybe I might be in the mood to sing some Tom Petty."

"What's this?" interjected Susie. "Dil Pickles, the 'heavy metal King David', is actually going to sing something non-metal? The world must truly be coming to an end!"

Dil laughed. "Now, now, I'm very diverse. It's just that diversity has to be rock."

The gang laughed.

And Ashley said, "Okay, I'll go. Just to see that, I'll go."

But Angelica smirked, and said to herself, _"But in reality, that diversity is when the 'cute girl' you're holding hands with says she likes Tom Petty. Perhaps I should tell him that his precious Dio will consider him a traitor to the heavy metal lifestyle."_

Once Angelica finished her thought, Dil turned to her. "Well, how 'bout it, cuz? Want to party, or do you have to pick up Ian early in the morning?"

"Not early in the morning, but I'd like to get him before noon—otherwise, he's going to be wondering where his mommy ran off to."

"You should go, Angelica," interjected Susie. "It'll be fun for you. Besides, you might get to talk with…"

"Stop!"

Susie giggled.

"Get to talk with who?" asked Dil.

"No one in particular," answered Angelica. "Okay, I'll go for a little bit."

"Wonderful!" Dil said with a smile. "You guys go, and pay your tabs. I'm going to head to the back, and remove this robe. Then I'll be back, and get my equipment from the stage."

"Okay, Dil, sounds good," Tommy said, before he, and those around him, began to return to the bar area to pay up. However, Dezirae remind behind—still holding Dil's hand.

"I'll be back in a few—go and pay up what you owe."

"Okay," Dezirae said, while she released Dil's hand.

But as she did so, Dil gave her a quick tickle.

Dezirae giggled, and smiled at Dil, as he walked away into the back area.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the members of Dark Stairway, Dezirae and her friends, and the gang left The Nightlife. Dil, now wearing a Grave Digger shirt, acted their leader—guiding them to Mike's. Since Tommy and Kimi did not drive to The Nightlife, they rode with Dil.

"So, Dil," began Tommy, "how far is this place?"

"Just a couple of blocks away—it won't take long to get there."

"I've got to ask you, Dil, what's your deal with this girl, Dezirae?"

Dil blushed, which seemed to be enhanced, because of his red hair. "Oh, you know, she's just a girl I met in the bar, who liked my music."

"She's very pretty," added Kimi.

Dil continued to smile. "Yes. Yes, she is."

Tommy also smiled.

Dil turned on adjacent street, parked his car next to the curb, and said, "All right, here we are!"

When Tommy and Kimi stepped out of Dil's car, they took a moment to observe their surroundings. The neighborhood Dil had drove them to contained homes that appeared to have been built in the 1940s or 1950s. A much older neighborhood, than the one the gang had grown up in.

"Hmm," Dil began, while he looked at the cars parked nearby, "from what I can tell, we're really bringing the party. In Mike's home right now, I'd say there are probably anywhere from five to ten people."

Dil, Tommy, and Kimi, waited next to Dil's car, while those who had followed him found a spot to park, and exited their cars. Once they did so, Dil said, with a gesture to Mike's house, "Well, here we are. Now, let's party!"

"Uh, Dil?" said Ashley.

"Yeah, Ashley?"

"Isn't this a rough part of town?"

Dil chuckled. "Na, the rough part of town is another three blocks away. We're fine. But if this actually was a 'rough part of town', I'd say that it's nothing compared to the rough parts of town of LA. Wouldn't you agree, Tommy?"

"Oh, of course! Compared to those places, this is a piece of cake."

"Come then, let's party!"

* * *

Mike's home had an interior that mirrored much of what was in Dil's apartment—plenty of tapestries and posters. But unlike Dil's apartment, not all of the tapestries and posters were heavy metal related. The members of Dark Stairway were greeted with cheers, when they entered, but it was Dil—holding Dezirae's hand—who received a personal introduction from the host.

"Mr. Dil Pickles!" Mike said with a gesture. "Mr. Chris Boltendahl! Mr. Bruce Dickinson! Mr. Ronnie James Dio!"

Many of the guests, including members of the gang, laughed.

Dil, however, merely smirked. "I'm not any of those guys. They aren't me, and I'm not them. I'm unique. I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David!'"

The guests roared, while Dezirae turned to Dil and smiled.

Mike chuckled, before he turned to the guests that had accompanied Dil. "Obviously, I know who your band members are, and I met these three girls earlier, but who's everybody else that you brought with you?"

"Well, let me introduce all of them to you."

While Dil introduced the members of the gang to Mike, Angelica noticed Johnny, pouring himself a drink from one of the beer kegs. Based on Johnny's facial expression, he did not appear to be in a good mood. After his drink was prepared, Johnny stepped out onto a balcony.

After Dil finished the introductions, Angelica fixed herself a 7-and-7, but as she did so, she turned to the balcony. Johnny was still there, and he appeared to be alone. Once her drink was prepared, Angelica decided to join him.

* * *

Johnny turned, when he heard the sliding glass door open. When he noticed that Angelica was coming to join him, he smiled—but, at the same time, he forced himself to smile. "Hey, Angelica."

"Hi, Johnny," Angelica said with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed listening to you guys tonight. I'm not really a fan of heavy metal, but I had fun tonight."

Again, Johnny forced himself to smile. "Thanks. I appreciate you saying that—thanking the drummer and all."

Johnny took a drink of his beer, and looked at the concrete beneath him.

"Are you all right?"

Johnny returned his focus to Angelica. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? To be honest, you didn't look like you were in a good mood a few minutes ago."

Before Johnny could answer Angelica's question, music began to play inside the home. Both Angelica and Johnny turned to the scene. A microphone had been placed in the center of the master room, and Dil began to sing along to Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels'.

Angelica chuckled. "Dil singing non-metal music." Returning to Johnny, she added, "Perhaps I should harass him about what his precious Dio would say."

Johnny sighed. "Go ahead." And turning away from Angelica, he added, "I could care less."

"Now I can tell that something's bothering you."

Johnny turned to Angelica.

Angelica took a sip of her drink and added, "It's my motherly instinct."

Johnny smirked.

"What is it, Johnny?"

Johnny sighed. "There are just times, when I feel like I'm just a 'bit player.'"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you notice the reaction that we received, when we-I'm referring to the band-came in?"

"Yeah, all of you guys received an applause."

Johnny took a gulp of his beer. "That's partially true, but another part is missing."

"What other part?" asked Angelica, while she took a sip.

"You notice how Mike gave Dil this big introduction—calling him 'Mr. Bruce Dickinson', 'Mr. Ronnie James Dio', and so forth?"

Angelica nodded.

"How come we didn't get that? By 'we', I mean the other members of the band. It just seems sometimes to me that Dark Stairway should really be called the 'Dil Pickles Show and Friends'. I realize that Dil is not intentionally doing this, and I realize that drummers don't often get the attention that they deserve, but it's really frustrating sometimes. I mean, have you ever worked hard, and just felt like no matter how much effort you put forward, you're just not being noticed?"

Angelica paused, before she answered Johnny's question. "Actually, I do." Angelica observed the stars, before she added, "Johnny, might I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"When you found out that you were going to become a father, how did your parents react?"

Johnny took a drink. "Well, they were upset that I wasn't married, but basically they told me that I needed to be responsible for my child, and I think I've fulfilled that responsibility."

"How so?"

"I always give child support. My daughter never goes without food, diapers, and clothing."

"Do your parents praise you for being a good father?"

"Not in words, but by their body language, I think they're proud of me."

Angelica nodded. "I do the same things that you do for my own son, Johnny, and I do them on my own. Ian's daddy hasn't given me a penny, but despite that, I know that my parents don't respect me. I can see it in their body language, and even though I've had to 'read between the lines', I can see it in their words too."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since I became pregnant with Ian, I just feel like nothing that I do will ever cause me to regain the respect of my parents." Angelica took a sip and added, "I committed an 'unforgivable sin' in their eyes. I'm just 'one big screw up.'"

"How many 'one big screw ups' do you know sit on Pilot's board?"

"They don't see it that way, Johnny."

"Well then, how do they see it?"

"They don't look at me as someone who earned my job through my own merits. They look at me as someone, who was handed the job, through my mother's influence."

"I take it your mother works for the company?"

Angelica nodded. "She's also a board member."

"Well, Angelica, there is the famous statement, 'It's not who you are; it's who you know.' I mean, consider us. We got a record deal with your company, but critics will always say, 'Well, the only reason you got the record deal was because your lead singer's cousin is a board member.' And that's true. Your presence obviously helped. But we also spent our time honing our craft. Plus, if our album, or any future album, flops, your connection with Dil isn't going to matter to us. If the money isn't there, it isn't there." Johnny finished the last of his beer and added, "The point is, Angelica, you obviously had some skill to get on Pilot's board—regardless of what influence your mother might have had. Plus, you're still working for the company, which means you must be doing an effective job. Only you can do an effective job—your mother can't do that for you."

Angelica smiled.

And Johnny returned the smile—this time with no force involved. "You know, just standing here outside, chatting with you, has made me feel a whole lot better."

"Same here," Angelica said, while she maintained her smile.

Johnny flashed his empty beer cup, and pointed to Angelica's nearly empty glass. "It looks as though I could use another beer, and you could use another drink. Why don't we go back inside?"

"Absolutely!"

But as Angelica and Johnny re-entered the home, someone exclaimed, "The fuck do you think you're doing?!"


	12. Tommy, Kimi, and the Aftermath

**Author's Note**: Sorry that it's taken me a while to get this chapter together. I've had some work to do. I originally planned to have a lot of the "aftermath" as another chapter, but since I thought what I had was too short, I decided to extend it.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XII**

As Angelica and Johnny had their conversation on the balcony, another conversation was taking place on the front porch.

"Truly is a beautiful night," Tommy said, while he observed the stars.

Kimi smiled at Tommy, but she did not say anything. Instead, she sat on the front porch's brick wall with a bourbon and 7up in her hand, and reclined against a column.

Tommy turned to her briefly and smiled, before he decided to check the time on his cellphone. "Dear God! It's after three in the morning. I'm hardly ever out this late anymore."

Kimi chuckled. "Don't party out much in LA?"

Tommy smirked, as he sat next to Kimi on the wall. "No, I do. There are bars and clubs that I visit, but I'm usually out of there by at least one, if not before."

Kimi smiled.

Again, Tommy returned the smile. "But who are you to talk about partying, Miss 'I never leave the house, because I have too much work to do' Kimi?" Tommy asked, while he tickled her.

Kimi giggled, and flashed her drink. "I may not get out of the house much, but when I do, I know how to party."

"Oh," Tommy began with a smirk, "so since I don't have a drink in my hand, I don't know how to party—is that what you're saying?"

Again, Kimi giggled. "Could be."

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to fix that. Be back in a minute."

Tommy left his place next to Kimi, and re-entered the home. But as he did, Kimi watched him through the front door window. Tommy poured a drink from one of the beer kegs, while Mike and Dil set up a portable amplifier and microphone in the middle of the master room. After his beer was poured, Tommy had a brief conversation with his brother, which included whispering something into Dil's ear. Whatever Tommy spoke to Dil made his little brother chuckle. Dil, in turn, responded back to his big brother with a statement that made Tommy laugh.

When he returned to the front porch, Tommy was still grinning. "Now then," Tommy began, as he displayed his beer cup, "do I now know how to party, or are you going to throw some other character attack against me?"

Kimi giggled, while she returned to her spot on the wall.

Tommy smiled, while he sat next to her.

Kimi placed a hand on Tommy's thigh, and Tommy pulled her close.

"So what's it like on the inside?" asked Kimi.

"Well, most people seem to be sitting in the living room—although I did notice Angelica and Johnny on the balcony, and Lil and James were standing in the kitchen."

"Now I get confused, who are they again?"

"Johnny's Dark Stairway's drummer, and James is the keyboard player."

"Ah, okay."

"I've got a feeling that someone's going to need to drive Susie's car home tonight."

Kimi chuckled. "Is she getting drunk?"

"Seems to be that way—as petite as she is, and considering that she hates a lot of the music that's been playing." Tommy took another drink. "I know that she's 'drinking her way through it.' In some respects, I wonder if Susie isn't slightly out of place. It would kind of be like Dil at a hip hop festival."

Kimi took a drink of her bourbon and 7up. "I can see that, but at the same time the same could be said for us. We're not exactly metal heads."

"No, we're not. But it seems to me that most people can tolerate the music better than she can."

Kimi took another sip. "I guess so."

"Other than that, I saw Phil chatting with one of the girls that came with Dezirae. I'm not sure which one though."

"On the subject of Dezirae, is she still flirting with Dil?"

"She's still got her eyes locked on him, that's for sure. She was sitting in one of the chairs, when I walked through, and her focus was totally on Dil."

When Tommy finished his sentence, Tom Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels' began to play, and Dil Pickles began to sing.

Tommy grinned. "You know what would be funny?"

"What?"

"If the cops got called tonight."

"What?! No, I don't think that would be funny, Tommy."

Tommy chuckled. "It would just be funny, because Dil's singing. He's singing a non-metal song."

Kimi left the brick wall, and stood near the door. She wanted to hear Dil sing. "You know," she began, before she turned back to Tommy, "your brother's doing an excellent job of singing that song."

Tommy smirked. "I can remember when we were little, before Dil got into heavy metal that he used to sing all kinds of different music. But it seems like once he turned 14, it was metal and only metal."

Kimi smiled, and returned to her spot next to Tommy. "You know, I remember around Christmas one year, the two of you sang a Hanukkah song in Susie's church."

Tommy laughed. "Oh, yeah! I forgot all about that. Did you know that, that was Dil's idea?"

"It was?"

Tommy nodded. "I remember him saying that he thought there were too many Christmas songs and not enough Hanukkah songs, so he and I composed one together." Tommy paused to take another gulp of his beer. "You know, what's funny now, is that if we were to try and do something like that again, Dil would probably start singing Adam Sandler's 'Hanukkah Song.'"

Kimi laughed. "Oh, I can just seem him doing that."

Tommy smiled.

And Kimi returned the smile. "On the subject of Dil, when you were inside earlier, I happened to watch you say something to him."

"Yeah?"

"What did you say?"

"I asked him what song he was going to sing, and he told me Petty's 'You Don't Know How It Feels'. I then asked him what his 'precious Dio' would say about what he was going to sing. And," Tommy started to chuckle, "he said, and I quote, 'Dio would understand. He's a kind and loving dictator from the silver mountain.'"

Kimi laughed. "That's definitely your brother."

Kimi left her spot next to Tommy to once again observe Dil sing. Dil beamed, but his expression did not seem to be for everyone in the room.

"You know," Kimi began, as she returned to Tommy, "when we were at the club, Dil said that he would sing some Tom Petty for Ashley, but that's not really what I saw."

"What did you see?"

"Dil seemed to be looking in one direction. He seemed to be looking at Dezirae. I think he was singing to her." Kimi took another sip and added, "Now, I just hope that Dil doesn't hurt her."

"Or she doesn't hurt him," said Tommy.

"Hm?"

"I kind of wonder about Dil sometimes. He only had a few girlfriends in high school, and they didn't last very long." Tommy took a drink and added, "Also, I haven't heard of many relationships after high school. Whenever Dil and I talk—be it on the phone or internet—our conversations always seem to be music related. He's always talking about songs he's writing, or gigs that he's playing, he never talks to me about girls that he's seeing."

"He's had a few; he's brought them into Java Lava before." Kimi took a sip and added, "I can't tell you what their names were."

"That's my point. The fact that you can't remember their names, and the fact that Dil never talked about them, shows me that Dil didn't really care too much for them."

"But you don't know that for certain."

Tommy took a gulp of his beer. "No, I don't, but I would think that if Dil really cared about those girls, he would have gone into a period of mourning over them, when they broke up. Do you see what I mean?"

Kimi nodded. "Yes, I do."

"But with Dezirae, it's different. I can see that in Dil. I saw it in him, when he drove us over here, when I asked him about her." Tommy finished the last of her beer and added, "It's not alcohol related. Dil's really falling for her."

Kimi finished the last of her drink and said, "Let me ask you this, Tommy. Do you fear Dil falling in love?"

"To a certain degree, I do."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to see him get hurt. I don't want to see him heartbroken."

Kimi smiled, and kissed Tommy's cheek. "Thomas Malcolm Pickles looking out for his little brother—the 'Heavy Metal King David'."

Tommy returned the smile and the kiss to Kimi's cheek, before he placed Kimi on his lap. "Yeah, something like that."

"Tommy?" Kimi said, while she placed her hands on his thighs. "The fact that you're worried about Dil the way that you are—have you ever fallen in love before?"

Tommy leaned against the brick column. "Tough question—when I think about it, the answer is probably not."

"But you've dated girls before, didn't you care for them?"

"Of course, I did. But I think 'caring for someone,' and 'loving someone' are two totally different things."

"What do you mean?"

"Take Angelica, for instance. I know that she loved Seth, and was totally devastated, when she caught him cheating on her. I was out in LA, when all of this happened, but everyone told me that Angelica would just break down and cry, when she thought about it."

Kimi nodded. "That's true. Angelica was looking forward to life as a wife and mother, and Seth killed that dream for her."

Tommy returned the nod. "That's true love. I've never experienced that."

"Tommy?" Kimi said with a hand on his thigh.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had feelings for a girl the way you think Dil is having feelings right now?"

"Yes."

"For whom?"

"You."

Kimi's dark eyes locked with Tommy's green eyes.

"I've had a crush on you since high school that's never faded away. Even when I was out in LA, I still thought about you. I don't know if Dil's feelings are exactly like mine, but you've asked me, and now I've told you…once again."

Kimi smiled. She leaned forward, and kissed Tommy.

Tommy grinned. "I need some more of that," he said, while he leaned forward and kissed Kimi.

Kimi ran her fingers through Tommy's hair, while Tommy ran his fingers along Kimi's spine. Tommy moved his fingers lower and lower—eventually he found his fingers inside Kimi's jeans; feeling her barren skin and thong. _"Heaven!"_ he thought.

But Tommy and Kimi's bliss was short lived. Despite the fact that the door and windows were shut, Tommy and Kimi were able to hear someone yell, "The fuck do you think you're doing?!" Immediately, the two ceased kissing.

"The hell was that?" said Tommy.

"I don't know," replied Kimi. "But obviously, it came from the inside."

"Let's see what's going on," Tommy said, while he took Kimi's hand, and led her inside the home.

* * *

"The fuck do you think you're doing?!" the voice repeated. The voice came from the kitchen, and it belonged to Chuckie. Growing up, Chuckie had always been considered a passive child, but as he grew older, he became more aggressive—especially if those that he cared about felt threatened.

"Hey, just what's going on here?!" Mike said, as he entered the kitchen. Behind Mike stood the other party goers. They were curious as to what was going on.

Next to Chuckie stood his wife. Ashley massaged Chuckie's arm in an attempt to calm him down.

Chuckie, however, ignored them both. Instead his eyes were focused on one individual—a man who was present in the home, before Chuckie arrived with Dil and the gang. This man's eyes revealed that he had one drink too many.

Outside the kitchen, one of the first of Tommy's childhood friends that he saw was Phil, who stood next to one of Dezirae's friends. "Phil, what's going on here?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know exactly, but it's a standoff, that's for sure."

"Chuckie!" exclaimed Kimi.

"Let me try to deal with it," Tommy said. "I'm his best friend. Maybe he'll listen to me."

As Tommy nudged his way passed the guests, Phil murmured, "He certainly isn't listening to his wife."

"Chuckie!" Tommy said, as he moved passed everyone to get into the kitchen. Standing by Chuckie's side, he added, "Chuckie, what's going on?"

Chuckie noticed Tommy, but he did not answer him—his eyes were still focused on the drunk man next to the counter.

Eventually, Tommy turned to Ashley. "Ashley, what's going on?"

But before Ashley could respond, the drunk began to giggle.

"The hell's so damn funny?!" exclaimed Chuckie.

Chuckie approached the man, ready to strike him. But before he could, Tommy blocked his path. "Out of the way, Tommy!"

"Damn it, Chuckie, what's going on?!"

"This dumbass drunk thought it would be cute to grab my wife's ass right in front of me!" replied Chuckie, while he gestured to the drunken man.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold on now!" Mike said, as he got between the two as well. Mike gestured to the drunken man and added, "Look, man, Danny's too drunk to realize what he did. I don't think he knows if he's in Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Limbo, or my house right now. So let's just forget about it, and let's go back and have a good time. We don't need anyone getting into a fight."

With his fists still clenched, Chuckie gave Mike a nod. He decided that he would simply forget this incident. And he would have, until Danny decided to make another stupid mistake. As Chuckie, Mike, Tommy, and Ashley turned to leave, Danny made another attempt for Ashley's rear. When Chuckie noticed Danny's second attempt, he promptly decked him—and Chuckie added insult to injury by kicking him in the jaw, as he went down. Before Chuckie could do further damage, Tommy and Mike dragged him out of the kitchen and into the master room.

Once in the master room, Chuckie declared, "You know what? I'm out of here!" Chuckie secured his wife by the hand, and led her to the door.

"Chuckie, wait!" Tommy said.

"I'll wait outside for you, Tommy," Chuckie said, as he and Ashley headed for the front door. However, before they left the home, Chuckie turned to his friend and added, "Be quick."

After Chuckie and Ashley left the home, Tommy turned to those gathered and said, "If Chuckie's going, then I'm going."

Kimi agreed with Tommy's position. Obviously, because she was Chuckie's little sister. However, Dil, Phil, Lil, Susie (who seemed to sober up from watching the tense moment in the kitchen), and Angelica also agreed with Tommy's position. From their perspective, if one member of the gang was going to leave, due to him or her feeling unwelcome, so were all of them.

But before they left the home, Dil turned to Mike and said, "Thanks for letting us come over, Mike. But in a situation like this, if one of my childhood friends is leaving, I'm out too."

Mike nodded. "I understand, Dil. I'll try to see you at your next gig."

* * *

Outside the home, Tommy and Kimi confronted Chuckie and Ashley next to their car. "Chuckie, wait up!" Tommy said.

Chuckie held his wife's hand and said, "Tommy, if you're going to try and convince me to come back inside, you can just forget about it."

"No, no," Tommy said. "I'm not going to try and convince you to come back in. I'm leaving, and so is Kimi. In fact, so is the rest of the gang. We back you on this. I just wondered if Kimi and I could get a ride home? We walked to the club earlier, and we rode over here with Dil. Could you give us a ride home?"

Chuckie chuckled. "Of course, I can."

Before Tommy and Kimi stepped into Chuckie's car, Tommy turned to his childhood friends, who were also gathered outside, and said, "I'll see all of you tomorrow, and make sure to look out for Susie."

"Look out for me?" said Susie. "What for?"

"I think you had a bit too much to drink tonight," responded Tommy. "Why don't you get a ride with us?" Yet, after he made that statement, Tommy turned to Chuckie and asked, "That's okay, right?"

"Of course!"

"You want to ride with us, Susie?" Tommy asked again.

"No, Tommy, I'm fine. I can drive my car home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Well, all right then." And as Tommy entered the car with Kimi, he added, "I can't make people do something that they don't want to do."

"Do you think she'll be all right?" asked Kimi.

"She sure sounded that way. I think she may have sobered up. Still, I'm going to send her a text message, and ask her to message me, when she gets home."

After Chuckie and Ashley left with Tommy and Kimi, the other members of the gang stood next to their cars. However, they were not alone. Also present were the members of Dark Stairway and Dezirae, Rachel, and Nichole. Rachel and Nichole stood next to Phil, while Dezirae stood next to Dil. Yet none of them said anything, until Dil said, "You know what? I still want to party! The night's still young, and I've got some booze at my place. So who's with me?"

Dil's question, however, was met with some yawns.

"The night's not young, Dil," responded Angelica. "It's nearly four in the morning."

"Which makes it a perfect time to avoid the cops," added Dil.

"Look, Dil," began Angelica, "if you want to party that's fine, but I can't. I need to go home and get some sleep, because I want to get a light workout in, before I pick up my son."

"I think I'm going to call it a night as well," added Phil. "I'm just too tired."

Phil's perspective was shared with Lil, Susie, Dil's bandmates, and Dezirae's two friends. Dezirae, however, was silent.

"Oh, well, more booze for me," said Dil. Then he turned to Dezirae with a smile and asked, "Are you going to be my lone drinking buddy, Dezirae, or am I going to be the 'last in line'?"

"How far away to do you live, Dil?"

"About two miles from where The Nightlife is."

Dezirae kissed Dil and added, "You're not going to be the 'last in line', Dil. I'll be your drinking buddy. Will you give me a minute?"

"Of course!" Dil responded with rosy cheeks.

* * *

Dezirae left Dil, and approached her two friends. Rachel had just given Phil her cellphone number, when Dezirae arrived.

"Hey, there!" began Nichole. "We saw the goodnight kiss that you gave Dil. So are you ready to go?"

"Not quite, I think I want to party at Dil's, and you two should go with me."

"Dezirae," began Rachel, "it's four o'clock in the morning!"

"Yeah, so? It's also my 21st birthday."

"No, that ended at midnight," said Nichole.

"Where does Dil live anyway?" asked Rachel.

"He said that he lived about two miles from where The Nightlife is."

Nichole yawned. "Look, I don't care if you party, but I'm too tired to party, and I'm the one that drove us out this evening. How do you plan on getting home?"

"I'll walk, if necessary."

"Okay, just be safe."

"Will do!"

* * *

Dil leaned against his car, and smiled, as he watched Dezirae return. "So what's the latest?"

"Well, I tried to get my friends to go with me, but they said that they're both just too tired."

"So I take it you're my sole drinking buddy?" Dil asked with a smile.

Dezirae returned the smile and said, "I'm you're sole drinking buddy."

Dil maintained his smile and added, "I can deal with that." Then he took Dezirae's hands, and gently pulled her in for a kiss. "We might be the last in line, but we will always shine."


	13. Angelica and Memories

**Author's Note**: I realize that it's been a while, but I've been a little busy this past month. For this chapter, I am going to focus a little bit on Angelica's past.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XII**

Angelica arrived at her apartment around 4:30 in the morning. Despite how early in the morning it was, Angelica always thought that her apartment felt different, when Ian was not present. Nevertheless, she was tired. Angelica crawled into bed, but she was worried about Susie. Even though Susie declared that she was safe to drive, Tommy was certainly worried about her; therefore, Angelica decided to call her.

Considering the time, Angelica wondered if Susie would even answer her. Yet if Susie did not answer her that would make Angelica feel even worse. Although, Dil informed everyone that the police made their shift changes at four in the morning, what if he was wrong? What if Susie had been stopped and she failed the breathalyzer test? But those questions faded, when a groggy Susie answered, "Hello?"

"Susie, thank God!"

"What is it, Angelica? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to make sure that you made it home all right."

"Yeah, I did, but your cousin's a little off about that four o'clock police shift."

"What do you mean?"

"A cop had someone pulled over in my parking lot. It scared the shit out of me! I decided to park my car somewhere else and walk home."

Angelica chuckled. "Well, at least you made it home safe."

"Yeah, I did. Now if you're done asking me questions, I've got one for you."

"And what's that?"

"How was your time with Johnny?"

Angelica giggled. "Now why would you ask me that?"

Susie smiled. "I think you already know the answer to that question, don't you?"

Angelica smiled. "It was nice. I think we made each other feel good."

"Did you get his number?"

Angelica laughed. "Yes, I did."

"Are you going to call him?"

Angelica yawned. "Only if I get some sleep first."

Susie laughed. "Oh, all right—I'm sure that I'll be hearing more about this later."

Angelica smiled. "Night, Susie."

"Night, Angelica—thanks for checking on me."

* * *

When Angelica opened her eyes, the clock on her nightstand displayed 10:30. Angelica slept for only six hours, but she was not hung over. Locating her cellphone, Angelica called her parents. Angelica informed her father that she intended to have a brief workout at the gym, and that she would pick Ian up around one.

At one o'clock that afternoon, Angelica was present at her childhood home. Charlotte Pickles answered the door holding her grandson.

"Mommy!" exclaimed the two-year-old.

Angelica smiled. "Hey there, baby boy!"

Angelica took Ian from Charlotte, and kissed his cheek. When she entered her childhood home, she placed Ian on the floor next to some toys, while she sat on the sofa next to her mother.

"So how was it?" asked Charlotte.

Angelica informed her mother about her night at The Nightlife. She informed Charlotte about how great of a singer and showman her young cousin was; about how much fun Jack had at the show; the after-hours party that she attended; and how Chuckie punched and kicked a drunken guest for grabbing his wife.

Charlotte chuckled. "That's a far different cry from the Chuckie that we knew growing up."

Angelica smiled. "That's very true."

"So then what happened?"

"Nothing much really—we pretty much all left. I went home, and I think everybody else did the same. I know that Dil still wanted to party, but I think that his only guest was this girl that he happened to meet at the club."

Charlotte nodded. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day, Angelica?"

"I'm sure that most of it will be spent around the house with Ian. But I do want to call Johnny, and try to arrange a meeting with him tomorrow at the park."

"Who's Johnny?"

"He's Dark Stairway's drummer. I met him about a week ago at the park, when I was there with Ian. He was there with his daughter, and I think that his daughter and Ian enjoyed playing together."

"How old is his daughter?"

"She's about the same age as Ian."

"I take it that he's divorced?"

"Never married actually."

Charlotte prepared to give a response back, but before she could her grandson crawled on to the sofa, and placed his head on his mother's thighs.

"Hey, sweetling," Angelica said, while she ran her fingers through his hair, "you're not getting tired are you?"

Ian shook his head.

Angelica smiled, and placed Ian on her lap; but as she did so, she smirked. "Mom," she began, while she stood up from the couch with Ian, "I need to change him. Where's his diaper bag?"

"Upstairs in your bedroom—that's also where his PJs are at."

"Thanks."

As Angelica walked away, however, she turned to her mother and said, "Did you say something, Mom?"

"Oh, I didn't say anything, dear."

Yet Angelica was certain that her mother did. What she thought she heard her mother say was, 'Looks like Angelica found someone she has something in common with.' And that 'in common' was being a single parent. Angelica sighed, while she carried upstairs. _"It just never ends,"_ she thought.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Angelica left her parents' home with her son. When the two arrived home, Angelica placed Ian before the television, and played a _Spongebob _DVD for him. With her son occupied, Angelica entered her bedroom to make a call on her cellphone.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other side.

"Hi, Johnny, it's me, Angelica."

"Oh, hey, Angelica! How are you?"

"Pretty good—how were you feeling this morning?"

Johnny laughed. "Not too bad actually—I drank some water, before I went to bed." Johnny paused to chuckle. "I'm sure I felt much better than Dil did this morning."

Angelica laughed. "Yes, he still wanted to party, and he had that one girl with him…assuming that drinking beer was all that they did."

Again, Johnny chuckled. "True. So what's up?"

"Well, I wanted to call about seeing you tomorrow at the park. Will you be coming with your daughter?"

"Should be—we always go there on Sundays."

"Do you know when?"

"I'd say that we'd get there around one. What time do you normally arrive with your son?"

"About the same time."

"Well then, I guess it's a date between you and me and Austra and Ian."

Angelica chuckled. "I guess so."

"See you then."

Angelica smiled. "Sure will."

After Angelica's phone call with Johnny ended, she noticed that someone else had been trying to call her. A quick check of her caller ID revealed that the number belonged to Brianna, a friend from high school. Angelica immediately returned the call. "Hey, Brianna, what's up?"

"I came across someone interesting, when I was in Santa Rosa today, Angelica."

"And who would that be?"

"Seth."

"Seth?!"

Brianna chuckled. "Yep."

"Really? Did you tell him that he owes me money for child support?"

Again, Brianna chuckled. "I did kind of imply that, yes."

Angelica smirked. "I guess, because I haven't seen him in three years, I'm a little bit curious as to what he had to say."

"He said that he's a changed man…"

"I bet," interjected Angelica, while she maintained her smirk.

"And he did ask me about you."

"What did he want to know?"

"Just how you were doing and whatnot."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that you had a son; he asked, if it was his; and I said, 'Yes.' He then tried to see, if I would give him your phone number, but I refused. However, he did end up giving me his number to give to you. Do you actually want me to give it to you?"

Angelica sighed. "I'll take it, but I don't know if I'll actually call him."

Brianna recited Seth's number, and Angelica wrote it down.

"Thanks, Brianna," Angelica said. "I need to check on Ian real quick, so I'm going to get off the phone."

"Okay, talk to you later, Angelica."

After Angelica closed her cellphone, she left her bedroom to check on Ian. The toddler was a very jolly boy, who giggled at various scenes from the _Spongebob_ episode he was watching. Angelica smiled, but her mind began to wonder. Angelica's parents had always been together, but she had gone to school with children whose parents had been divorced. Yet those divorced parents still tried to remain in their children's lives. Angelica could never actually see herself with Seth again, but should Ian at least have the opportunity to know his father? To discuss this question, Angelica decided to return to her bedroom and call her best friend.

"Hey, Angelica," Susie said, when she picked up the receiver, "did you sleep well last night?"

Angelica chuckled. "Yes, I slept fine, and you?"

"Pretty good, but I have to confess, I felt a little hung over this morning."

Angelica laughed.

Susie smirked. "So what's up?"

"Got a phone call from Brianna not too long ago."

"What about?"

"Seth."

"Seth?!"

Angelica laughed. "Your reactions sounds just like mine, when I heard the news."

"What about that piece of shit?"

Angelica chuckled. "Apparently he's living in Santa Rosa, or at least around there, I guess. That's where Brianna saw him."

"Well good for him—he doesn't exactly have any checks to give you, does he?"

Angelica laughed. "I highly doubt it, but he did give Brianna his phone number, which she gave to me."

"Don't tell me that you're actually going to call him?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"Angelica, why? After all he's done to you!"

"I'm aware of that, but I'm not the only person involved in this relationship."

"You're not?"

"No, Ian is as well."

"…I don't understand you."

"Shouldn't Ian get a chance to know his father?"

"Shouldn't his father have not cheated on his mother, when she was pregnant with him?"

"Of course not! But can't people change?"

Susie sighed. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again, Angelica. And what about Johnny—you really seemed to like him?"

"I do like him, and I'm going to see him tomorrow; but it's not like we're in a serious relationship or anything."

"I understand that, but based on everything I've seen and heard about Johnny, he seems like a really great guy—a hell of a lot better than Seth! I'm not out to run your life or anything, but I would just hate it to see you lose a really great relationship to try and reconcile with Seth."

"I'm not trying to reconcile with Seth. I just want to give Ian the chance to know his daddy, and Seth the chance to know his son."

Susie sighed. "I understand what you're saying, Angelica, but I have seen bad things happen, when people have the same intentions that you have, Angelica. I just don't want to see you hurt all over again."

"I appreciate that, Susie; and I promise you, I won't let it get that way."

Susie turned to the floor, before she said, "I pray that you're right."

"Mommy!" interjected an outside voice into the conversation. Naturally the voice belonged to Ian, who stood in the doorway of his mother's bedroom.

Angelica smiled. "Hey, baby!"

Susie giggled. "I take it Ian entered the conversation."

"Yeah, his DVD must be over. I'd better go, Susie. Talk to you later."

"Okay, take care of yourself, Angelica."

"Thanks, I will."


	14. Tommy, Dil, Kimi, and Revelations

**Author's Note**: This was one of my favorite chapters to write. In this chapter, there is a little more drama between Kimi and Tommy in this one. Also, we learn some information about Dil's 'special lady friend.'

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XIV**

After finishing his workout at the gym, Tommy Pickles returned home to take a quick shower, before he drove his mother's car to his brother's apartment. When Tommy arrived, he heard his brother's music, and Dil singing. Tommy knocked on the door, but his only response was Dil singing the words, "Saints of the broken souls!" A louder knock, however, produced a result. Dil turned his music down.

"Ah, it's my older brother!" Dil said, as he opened the door. "And here I was worried that it was going to be a Jehovah's Witness. You know that I'm in a Jehovah's Witness protection program."

Tommy laughed. "I wouldn't think that the Jehovah's Witnesses would be brave enough to come to your door, Dil—with all your music playing that is."

"Oh, I get some who are pretty brave."

Tommy smiled.

And Dil returned the smile. "Come on in, T.," he added with a gesture.

Tommy entered. "Here's your shirt, by the way, Dil," Tommy said, while he held Dil's Black Sabbath shirt.

"Ah, wonderful," Dil said, as he took the shirt. Dil placed the shirt over his couch and added, "Sorry if you were waiting outside too long. I've been listening to this new Grave Digger CD that I picked up today."

"It's all good. You heard me on the second knock."

"That's good," Dil said, before he grabbed his new Grave Digger album. "Pretty cool, isn't it?" he added, while he showed Tommy the cover of the album. _Clash of the Gods_, it was called. The artwork featured Death holding a shield with sand descending through his other hand.

"Got to admit, the artwork is interesting," replied Tommy, even though he did not care much for the music.

Dil nodded. "So," he began, while he placed the CD next to his player, "what happened with you and Kimi, after you left last night? Did Chuckie calm down?"

"Yeah, he calmed down, after we left the house."

"What more or less happened, since I didn't actually see anything?"

"Chuckie said he was chatting with Ashley, when that guy just came out of nowhere, and grabbed her ass. Ashley said that she would have slapped him, if Chuckie wasn't already up in his face. By the way, do you know anything about the guy, who did that to Ashley?"

"Not really. I've seen him at The Nightlife before, but that's about it." Dil briefly turned to his kitchen and added, "By the way, Tommy, would you like a beer?"

"Yeah, sure."

Dil secured two beers. He handed one to Tommy, and the two took a drink together. "You do realize that you still haven't answered my other question, don't you?"

"And what's that?"

"What happened with you and Kimi?"

Tommy took a gulp of his beer. "Nothing really."

"Nothing really?!"

Tommy shook his head. "Chuckie drove us to her apartment. She went into her place. I told her that I'd see her tomorrow. And then Chuckie drove me home."

"No goodnight kiss or anything?"

"Nope."

Dil took a drink of his beer. "That's pretty lame, bro."

"Well, what did you expect—me to make out with her in her brother's car?"

Dil grinned. "Okay, I can see that."

Tommy took another drink. "But what about you? What happened to you, and that girl you were with, after I left?"

Dil's grin now had a chuckle. "Oh, quite a bit actually."

Tommy grinned. "Like what?"

"Well, after you left, I still wanted to party, but nobody seemed to want to party with me, except Dezirae. So she was my sole drinking buddy."

"And did you drink much, Dil?"

"Uh," Dil paused to take a drink, "I think we had one, maybe two."

"And then what happened?"

Dil chuckled, as he took another drink. "Then we took a trip to my 'secret love dungeon.' I put on one of my beautiful DVDs…"

"A porn movie?"

"No, it wasn't a damn porn movie! It was Rainbow live in Munich." Dil took another drink. "Anyway, as I was saying, Rainbow played 'Man on the Silver Mountain', and I became the 'man on the silver mountain'—with all due respect to Dio—as Dezirae and I went through every position possible." Dil finished the last of his beer and added, "It was bloody great!"

Tommy laughed.

And Dil chuckled. "But that's not all. I learned something else."

"What? How to have sex?"

"The hell with you," Dil said, as he turned to his kitchen.

"Oh, come on now!" Tommy said, as he followed his brother. "I was just kidding."

"I'm aware of that," Dil said, while he grabbed a beer. "I know you well, big brother. By the way, do you want another beer?"

"Yeah, sure."

Dil handed Tommy another beer, before the two of them returned to Dil's master room.

"So," Tommy began, before he had a drink of his new beer, "what did you learn?"

Dil took a drink. "Do you remember that vice principal we had in junior high?"

"Pangborn? Yeah, what about him?"

Dil took another drink. "Dezirae's his daughter."

Tommy almost spit out his beer. "What?!"

Dil nodded with a grin. "Sure is."

Tommy was stunned. His brother had, had sex with the daughter of a principal that used to intimidate many of the students at their junior high.

Dil maintained his smile. "What is this? Is my big brother speechless?"

"I'm speechless in the fact that I didn't know he had a daughter around our age. I seem to remember, around the time that we graduated high school, that he married Miss O'Keats."

"He did, and they have twins together—a boy and a girl."

"So how does Dezirae arrive on the scene?"

"Do you remember what Pangborn's job was, before he got involved with education?"

"Yeah, he was a wrestler."

"Correct. From what Dezirae told me, her dad worked for a wrestling company out of Oregon that used to tour around northern California. Apparently, Pangborn met Dezirae's mother after one show. It wasn't long after that, that the promotion closed, and he left the wresting business. That's when he went back to school."

"So I guess he was married to Dezirae's mom, before marrying Miss O'Keats?"

"I guess so."

Tommy chuckled, before he took another drink. "Not sure what Pangborn would think, if he knew that you had sex with his daughter."

Dil grinned. "Eh, he loves me."

Tommy laughed. "I'm not sure about that."

"Of course he does. He always got along well with me in school."

_"That's true. Pangborn always did seem to like Dil—although, I think that was because Dil was an odd ball,"_ thought Tommy. But out loud he said, "True, but you weren't exactly having sex with his daughter. I could just imagine what Pangborn would say, if you got his daughter pregnant."

Dil laughed. "Oh, I could just see that."

_"I seriously doubt that Angelica would think you would find it funny, if it actually happened,"_ thought Tommy.

"Oh, I could just see it one day," continued Dil. "Little Tommy comes to my door to play with little Dil, but I have to tell little Tommy that little Dil cannot come out to play, because he said very bad things about Dio and Iron Maiden, and is therefore being forced to repent before the big heavy metal altar downstairs in the basement."

Tommy grinned; he was almost speechless. "I don't know what's worse. The fact that I could see you saying that, or the fact that I could see you having a 'heavy metal altar' in your basement."

Dil returned the grin.

Tommy finished his beer and added, "Would the heavy metal altar be in the same place as your 'secret love dungeon'?"

Dil laughed. "Oh, no, they would be in two separate rooms, but both would be in the basement. The secret love dungeon would be sealed with an iron door and a pad lock, and only I have the key that allows me and my special lady friends to enter." Dil took a drink of his beer and added, "But the heavy metal altar is open for all to see."

Tommy chuckled, but as he did so, his cellphone rang. Tommy checked the number. It belonged to his agent. "Hey, I better take this."

Dil nodded.

* * *

"Barry," Tommy began, as he stepped outside Dil's apartment, "what's up?"

"Well, Tommy, quite a bit. Do you remember how I told you that you'd basically have until New Year's paid time off?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you will have some time off, I'm sure for a while, but the studio called me today with a revelation."

"And what is that?"

"Even though they're not looking to start shooting, until after the new year, they want to begin the casting before then."

"When?"

"A week from now."

"A week from now?!"

"Yeah. Look, Tommy, I'm sorry, but this is out of my control. I didn't make this decision. I could understand you refusing it…"

"Damn it! You know I can't refuse it! This is the best script I've received, since I started in Hollywood. If I refuse it, the studio will give the script to someone else, and I'll be back to making 'B' movies."

"That may be possible…"

"Don't try to sugarcoat it, Barry. There's no 'may be' or 'possible', that's exactly what will happen."

Tommy's agent was silent.

Eventually, Tommy sighed. "When do I need to be back out there?"

"It would probably be best to be back in a few days, so everything can be properly ready to go. I could try and petition a little more time, but…"

"That's not necessary, Barry. I'll be there."

"Great, Tommy, I'll let the studio know. Like I said, I'm sorry about this, but at least you'll still get some time, once you get casting done."

"Right, thanks, Barry."

"Bye, Tommy."

"Bye, Barry."

* * *

Tommy closed his cellphone and muttered the dreaded 'F-word' before he re-entered Dil's apartment.

"So what's up?" asked Dil.

"You know that camping trip all of us were going to take part in, before Halloween?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it looks like I'm not going to be part of it. I have to fly back to LA."

"How come?"

"The studio wants me to get the cast together for the _Nicholas and Alexandra_ movie."

"Oh, wow! Gee, T., I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too."

"What about Kimi?"

"I don't know. I'm going to talk to her about this later."

Dil nodded. "Right."

"Make sure to have a fun time without me."

"Well, actually, Tommy, I won't be going either."

Tommy was stunned. "You won't?"

Dil shook his head. "Nope."

"What's your reason?"

"Got a date."

"A date?"

"Yeah, a dinner date with Dezirae. I didn't get the chance to tell you, but I'm going to have dinner with her and her parents. And in case you're wondering, her stepmom, not her biological mother."

"You sound like you're rushing into things a bit too quick, Dil."

"Maybe, but I really like this girl."

Tommy nodded. "I just hope she doesn't end up hurting you."

Dil grasped Tommy's hand, and placed his other hand on top of it. "I'm not the one you should worry about getting hurt, T."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Tommy knocked on the door of Kimi's apartment. She answered wearing a black _Hello Kitty!_ shirt and jeans, which made Tommy smirk.

Kimi, however, beamed, when she saw Tommy. "Hey, Tommy!"

"Hey, Kimi," Tommy said, as he returned the smile.

"Come on in," Kimi said with a gesture.

Tommy did so; but as he did so, he found Kimi's fingers against his rear.

Kimi giggled. "Such a cute little ass."

Tommy blushed. "Hey, quit that!" he said playfully, while he tickled her.

Kimi continued to giggle, but she stopped long enough to kiss Tommy, and run her fingers through his hair. "I was wondering, when you'd finally come by."

"I had to see my brother first."

"Yes, you did mention that last night."

Tommy nodded.

Kimi, however, could sense that there was something wrong with Tommy. True, he 'played with her', but it almost seemed as though he was 'forcing himself to do so.' "Tommy, is something wrong?"

Tommy sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, what is it?"

Tommy did not answer Kimi's question. Instead, she took Kimi by the hand and said, "Will you please sit with me?"

Kimi agreed, and Tommy led her to her sofa.

When the two sat, Kimi again asked, "What's going on, Tommy?"

Tommy informed Kimi that he had to leave his hometown. He had to return to LA, so he could begin casting for his new film.

"Oh, I see," Kimi said, while her eyes turned to the floor.

"I don't want to leave, Kimi, but I have to. This is an opportunity that I can't miss."

Kimi nodded sadly. "I understand, Tommy."

Tommy could tell that his words had symbolically put a dagger through Kimi's heart. He truly did not know what to say.

Eventually, Kimi sighed. "Even though it happened quicker than I expected, I knew it was going to happen."

"Huh?"

Kimi stood from the sofa, but her eyes still focused on Tommy. "I knew eventually that you were going to leave home again to go back to LA. I just thought my happiness of you being here would last longer."

"Kimi," Tommy began, as he left the sofa, "there is a way that it can continue."

"How?"

"You can come with me."

Kimi was stunned.

"You can come with me," continued Tommy. "You can come with me to LA."

"Tommy, you know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Well, because of the paper…"

"The paper?! Damn it, fuck the damn paper!"

"That's like saying, 'Fuck your damn movie!'"

"I call 'bullshit' on that one, Kimi. My movie is going to produce a hell of a lot more money, than your newspaper articles."

"And you know that, how? For all you know, your latest movie could be a box office bomb."

"It won't; trust me."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I'm directing it, that's how!"

Kimi smirked. "I'm almost surprised that I can think of an example where your brother is a little more sensible than you are."

"My brother?! My baby brother?!"

"At least he admitted to me the other night at the club that there was always a possibility his band's CD would not sell."

"Well then," began Tommy, "perhaps you should go and have a crush on him."

"Perhaps maybe I should."

Tommy sighed. "You know what, forget it. I'm done. I should have gone right back to LA, after Ian's birthday party."

"Well, maybe you should have."

"Yeah, I think so," Tommy said. After finished his sentence, he left Kimi's apartment, and let his frustrations be known by slamming the door.

Kimi had a face that was set like thunder. Yet, at the same, she was sad. When she began to calm down, the tears began to fill.


	15. The Uncertain Text

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XV**

On this particular Sunday afternoon in northern California the weather was picture perfect to begin the third week of October—a cool breeze, which gently lifted the autumn leaves. Of course, the autumn leaves were also lifted by two toddlers, Ian Pickles and Austra Adams. For Ian and Austra, the leaves were an excellent source of fun. A short distance from the children was the mother of the boy and the father of the girl.

"I think Austra has a great playmate in Ian," said Johnny, while he gestured to the little ones.

Angelica smiled. "I think so too." Turning to Johnny, Angelica added, "Do you know what Austra's going to be for Halloween this year?"

"A princess."

Angelica laughed.

"What?" Johnny said with a smile. "It's one thing that her mom and I agreed on. Besides, she is my little princess."

"Oh, trust me, Johnny, I wasn't laughing at Austra. I was laughing at myself. On old memory came back to me."

"What's that?'

"I saw a picture of me from Halloween back in 1988. I don't remember it, of course, but I was dressed as a princess." Angelica paused to look at the children. "I think it was due to my dad's influence."

"Your dad's influence?"

Angelica nodded. "He always referred to me as 'princess', when I was little."

Johnny smiled. "What about Ian? What's he going to be this year?"

"I'm going to dress him up as Spongebob, since he loves that cartoon. Last year, I dressed him up as a devil."

Johnny smirked.

"What?" Angelica said, as she returned the smirk.

"The first Halloween that I was old enough to go out in, my parents dressed me up as a devil. When you said that you dressed Ian up like that last year, it just made me smirk."

Angelica smiled, but that smile was cut short, when her cellphone rang. Angelica checked the caller ID. The number belonged to Susie. "Let me take this real quick."

"Okay, sure. I'll watch the kids."

"Hey, Susie," Angelica said, when she answered the phone.

"Hey, Angelica, are you ready to see me tomorrow at ten?"

"Sure am, I can't wait to hear your CD."

"I hope that the board members will find it as good as Dil's band…"

"You mean 'Dark Stairway'," interjected Angelica. "Dil's just one portion of the band."

"Well, yeah, he's just the one portion that I know."

Angelica chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But don't worry, I think we'll enjoy it. Or at least I will, compared to Dil's music."

Susie giggled. "So when was it that you were going to see Johnny?"

"I'm actually with him right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should go."

"No, it's okay. If I didn't want to talk to you, I could have sent your call to my voicemail."

"Well, I'll take off, and leave you two alone, but before I go, there is something that I want to ask you real quick."

"What's that?"

"You didn't actually call Seth, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

"Good."

"But I haven't ruled out the possibility that I might."

Susie sighed. "If you do, make sure to ask him for a huge child support check."

Angelica laughed. "Will do."

"Take care, Angelica."

"You too, Susie."

Angelica closed her cellphone, and returned to Johnny.

"Must have been an intense conversation," said Johnny.

Angelica chuckled. "It was just my friend, Susie. I have an appointment with her at ten tomorrow about her CD."

"Is she the girl that sings a bunch of soul and R&B stuff?"

"Yep," Angelica said with a nod. "Kind of the exact opposite of music that you guys do."

"Oh, thanks," Johnny said with a smirk.

Angelica returned the smirk. "Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something serious?"

"I don't know, can you?"

Angelica chuckled. "I think so. Anyway, I'm curious to know something from you. If there was a chance that you could reconcile with Austra's mother, would you?"

Johnny sighed, and placed a hand on his forehead. "Wow! Now that's a fairly loaded question. I'm not really sure how to answer it. Obviously, I think everyone would want the two parent family, but I truly don't think that could ever work for me and Ann, Austra's mom. We just simply can't live together. But in a lot of respects, Angelica, it's not something that I think about. Why did you ask?"

"Oh, I was just curious. That's all."

Johnny nodded. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Well, what about you? What if you were able to reconcile with Ian's father?"

Angelica turned to the ground. She sighed, before she returned to Johnny. "I don't know. I honestly don't know."

* * *

At around three in the afternoon, Johnny informed Angelica that he had to leave to return Austra to her mother. Before Angelica and Johnny left the park, they agreed that they would meet again. Johnny was very interested in taking Angelica to a certain club some evening. However, the two could not come to a consensus of when this evening would be. Before the two departed, Johnny instructed his daughter to say goodbye to Ian, and Angelica instructed her son to say goodbye to Austra.

Normally when Angelica leaves the park with Ian, she drives immediately to her apartment. But on this Sunday, Angelica did something different. She decided to visit her Uncle Stu and Aunt Didi.

"Well, hi, Angelica!" said Didi, when she responded to the doorbell. "Hey there, little Ian!" she added, with a tickle for the child's tummy.

Ian giggled.

"Well, come on in!" Didi said with a gesture.

Angelica, with Ian in her arms, followed her Aunt Didi into the home. Didi led them to the master room. Angelica placed her son on the floor, and normally he toddled over to some of Tommy and Dil's former toys that Didi and Stu kept around for Ian's arrival. But on this day, Ian did something different.

"Aunt Didi?" Ian said, while he stood next to his great-aunt with his hands on a sofa cushion.

"Yes, what is it, Ian?" responded Didi, while she ran some fingers through Ian's golden locks.

"Do you have any cookies?"

Didi smiled, and turned to the child's mother. "He reminds me of someone else."

Angelica returned the smile. "Looks like he may have inherited that from me. Of course, I did grow out of that obsession."

Didi maintained her smile, as she returned to Ian. "Yes, I do have some cookies. Would you like one?"

"Mm!" replied Ian.

"What's that?" added his mother.

"Yes, please."

Didi took her grand-nephew by the hand, and led him into the kitchen.

"You only get one though," Angelica said, as she followed the two.

Didi removed a cookie from the cookie jar, and handed it to Ian. "Here you go, young man."

As Ian prepared to bite into the cookie, his mother knelt before her young son. "What do you say to Aunt Didi?"

The toddler turned to his great-aunt and said, "Thank you."

Didi chuckled. "You're welcome, Ian."

"Sounds as though we have a guest," a voice interjected.

Didi, Angelica, and Ian—with a cookie in his hand—turned to the voice, which belonged to Stu Pickles.

"Hi, Uncle Stu," Angelica said.

"Hewwo, Uncle Stu," Ian added around his cookie.

Stu chuckled. "Hello to you both."

"How's your latest invention going, Stu?" asked Didi.

"Quite well, actually. Say! Since Ian's here, I couldn't ask him to try it out?"

"What is it?" asked Angelica.

"It's a new toy that I created."

"You're not going to use my son as a guinea pig, are you, Uncle Stu?" Angelica asked with a smirk.

Stu laughed. "No, no, I just want to see if Ian will like this new toy that I created, since I made it for people around his age."

Angelica smiled, and turned to her son. "Ian, your Uncle Stu has just created a new toy. Would you like this opportunity to play with it?"

"Yeah!" Ian exclaimed, while he ran crumbs against his shirt.

Angelica giggled, and ran some fingers through his hair. "Well then, you go with Uncle Stu." As she motioned Ian to his great-uncle, she added, "Keep an eye on him. He likes to get into things."

Stu smiled. "So did Tommy and Dil, and so did you at one time. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Angelica watched her uncle carry her son downstairs to his workshop, while she and her aunt returned to the master room.

"I don't see Tommy anywhere," Angelica said, as she sat on the sofa next to her aunt. "I take it that he must be out somewhere?"

"He said that he wanted to walk around town for a bit. He's leaving tomorrow to go back to LA."

"Really? I thought he was staying until the new year?"

"So did I, but apparently his agent called, and the studio wants him to start picking the cast for his latest movie."

Angelica nodded. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

Didi shook her head. "I don't know. Tommy thinks that he might be able to return after Thanksgiving."

Again, Angelica nodded. "Aunt Didi, there's something that I want to ask you."

"What is it, dear?"

"How did you feel, when Ian was born?"

Didi was stunned by the question. "Well, I was happy for you, dear. I was glad that your pregnancy was over and that you had a healthy baby."

"Were you happy that I was a single mom?"

"Well…not entirely, I must admit. I'm probably a little old fashion in that I like couples to be married, but I realize that the world is changing."

"I've been wondering," Angelica began, "if I would have ended up marrying Seth, then none of these problems I sometimes feel that I have with Mom and Dad would have ever happened?"

"And what problems are those?"

"They've never really accepted me as a single mom."

"Well, if I remember correctly, it was Seth who left you, when you were pregnant. But I think you've done a wonderful job of raising Ian."

Angelica smiled. "Thanks, Aunt Didi, but it's because of Ian that I'm confused about something."

"What's that?"

"A friend of mine from high school actually met Seth in Santa Rosa. He gave her his phone number, which she gave to me. I've actually thought about texting him, only because of Ian. I've been asking myself this simple question, 'Should Ian get to have the chance to know his father?'"

"I think Ian should be given that opportunity. But I also think that Seth owes you a nice check in child support."

Angelica smiled.

Didi returned the smile. "Angelica, if you want to text Seth, or message him, that's your choice. I just want you to be careful. You know how some guys can be."

Angelica maintained her smile. "Thanks, Aunt Didi."

* * *

Shortly after nine that evening, Angelica sat with Ian in his nursery. Angelica read a censored version of the Grimm's Fairy Tale 'Bearskin', but Ian seemed to be too worn out, from playing with his great-uncle's latest invention, to pay much attention. He fell asleep on his mother's lap.

Angelica closed the book, and gently placed Ian in his crib. She kissed her young son on the forehead and said, "Goodnight, Ian."

Before Angelica turned off the lights in the nursery, she took one last look at Ian. _"My golden haired boy,"_ she thought with a smile. But the scene drew a flashback. Angelica remembered herself in the crib, and how her father used to say, 'Goodnight, princess,' before he turned out the light. Playing off the flashback, Angelica whispered, "Goodnight, my little prince," before she turned off the light, and partially closed the door.

Reminiscing about her father, when she was little, struck a chord with Angelica. She decided to make the decision that she knew her friend, Susie, would hate. Angelica took the piece of paper that contained Seth's phone number, and typed a message into her cellphone. The message was a simple one. It read, 'Hi, Seth. It's Angelica.' Yet, Angelica was reluctant to press the 'send' button. Eventually, she did.


	16. Father of the Baby

**Author's Note**: It's taken me a little while to get this chapter down on paper. I'm hoping to have more time in the upcoming weeks. I appreciate everyone who has followed and reviewed my story so far, and I ask that they will continue to do so.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XVI**

Within five minutes, Angelica's cellphone informed her that she had received a text message. The number for the text message belonged to Seth, and the contents of the message were similar to Angelica's but different: 'Hey, Angelica. It's Seth. For confirmation purposes, how did you get my number?' From that message, a 'texting dialogue' was created between the two of them.

Angelica: _Brianna gave it to me. She told me that she saw you in Santa Rosa._

Seth: _Yeah, I've been living here for almost three years._

Angelica: _Must have been not much longer after I caught you cheating on me._

Seth: _Yeah, I wish I could have fixed that moment. But I don't want to dwell on the past right now. Is it true that you have a child?_

Angelica: _It is._

Seth: _Is it true that it's mine?_

Angelica: _It is._

Seth: _Boy or girl?_

Angelica: _Boy._

Seth: _What's his name?_

Angelica: _Ian._

Seth: _How old is he?_

Angelica: _Two._

Seth: _What does he look like?_

Angelica began to type a description of Ian, but she stopped. Instead she decided that it would simply be easier to send Seth a photograph. Angelica selected a photograph from Ian's second birthday, and sent that picture to Seth. Moments later, their 'textual conversation' continued.

Seth: _He's beautiful._

Angelica: _I know that he is._

Seth: _That smile that he has, it almost reminds me of mine._

Angelica: _I never thought of that before, but I think you're right. You know, Seth, there is something that I think you can do that would make your son very happy._

Seth: _What's that?_

Angelica: _A nice big check for back child support payments, and the chance for him to know his daddy._

Angelica's text did not receive an immediate response. When a response was made, at least ten minutes had passed.

Seth: _Can we talk about this later?_

Angelica: _I suppose so, since I'm going to bed._

* * *

In Pilot's corporate building, Angelica leaned against her desk, while a beaming Susie stood beside her. Angelica turned to a clock and said, "It's noon, Susie. Care to go to lunch? There's a Subway on the other side of the street."

"Sure, as long as you're buying," Susie said with a smile.

"As long as I'm buying?!" Angelica said, as she returned the smile. "You're the one who just got a record deal, 'Miss Soon to be Superstar.'"

Susie laughed. "I'm no more of a superstar than Dil is."

Angelica maintained her smile.

"In all seriousness, let's go to lunch. And how 'bout I buy? After all, you helped me get this record deal."

"Oh, stop it, Susie!" began Angelica. "It was your talent that got this record deal."

Susie smiled. "Well, thank you, Angelica, but I think that I'll still buy you your food. I mean, it's Subway. It's not like we're going to a five-star restaurant."

* * *

"I had an interesting conversation last night," Angelica said, before she took a drink of her ice tea. "Well, actually it was a 'textual conversation.'"

"With who?

"Seth."

"Seth?!"

Angelica laughed. "Somehow I thought you'd say that."

Susie sighed. "What did that piece of shit want to know?"

Angelica smirked. "He wanted to know, if it was true that I had a child, and if that child was his."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth and I sent him a photograph of Ian."

"Did he send you back a nice check?"

Angelica laughed. "No, but I actually asked him about that—along with why he cheated on me."

"What did he say?"

"On the cheating bit, he said that he regretted it, and that he wanted to focus on the future." Angelica paused to take a bite of her sandwich. "On the 'child support thing', he didn't really say anything, more or less anyway."

Susie rolled her eyes. "How shocking."

Angelica grinned. "He did say that he wanted to talk about it later."

Susie took a drink of her soda and asked, "You didn't let him off the hook with that one, did you?"

"Not intentionally, but I more or less had to."

"More or less, why?" asked a stunned Susie.

Angelica took a drink of her ice tea. "I had to. I had to go to bed. I had to get up early, and take Ian to daycare, and then come to work for my meeting with you."

Susie nodded. "Talk about being saved by the bell."

Angelica smiled.

"Has he messaged you back?" Susie asked, before she finished her sandwich.

"Not at the moment."

Again, Susie nodded. "Somehow, I doubt that he will—especially when you made the reference to him owing you money."

* * *

At six that evening, Angelica prepared a light dinner for herself and Ian, whom she worried would not be hungry, due to him running from room to room in her apartment. When Ian charged into the kitchen, Angelica scooped him up with a smile and said, "Aren't you just a little bundle of energy?"

Ian giggled.

And Angelica smiled, while she kissed her son's cheek, and returned him to the floor. As Angelica did so, her cellphone rang. The caller ID showed the number to belong to Johnny. "Well, hi, there!"

"Hey, Angelica, what's happening with you?"

"Not much, just watching Ian run all over the house. Fixing our dinner together, which I doubt he'll have much of."

Johnny chuckled. "Not a big eater, I take it?"

"I wouldn't say that, but when he runs all over the house, he's sometimes too full of energy to eat."

Johnny nodded. "So how was your day today?"

"Pretty good, I had my meeting today with Susie and the board at Pilot."

"Oh, yeah, you told me about that yesterday. How did that go?"

"Really good, the board agreed to put Susie's album on their label."

Johnny smiled. "Maybe you should be the person in charge of music, Angelica. Within a short span of time, you've helped two artists get on Pilot's label."

Angelica chuckled. "Well, if such a thing ever happens, I'll make sure to remember your words, and put your band and Susie's album on my resume."

"So long as the albums sell! Don't forget that, Angelica."

Angelica laughed. "Right! Thanks for reminding me of that. And if your album doesn't sell well, Johnny, I'm not going to blame you."

"Oh? Then who are you going to blame?"

"I'll blame Dil."

Johnny laughed. "Why Dil?"

"For his comment that he made at the club."

"Which one?"

"The one about how maybe some of the people will steal the album."

Again, Johnny laughed. "Well, if that happens, then I'll blame someone else."

"And who's that?"

"The security at the record store."

Angelica laughed, and Johnny chuckled.

"Anyway," continued Johnny, "the reason why I called was to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"You know that club that I want to take you to—The Rockwell?"

"Oh, yeah! I haven't been to that place in years—at least not since Ian was born."

"Well, I don't have to play on Friday, so I thought Friday might be a good day to go."

Angelica sighed. "I'd love to, but I can't. That's the day that me and the gang are going camping."

"Now that you mention it, Dil did tell me something about that."

Angelica nodded. "What about Saturday? I plan to be back that day."

"Can't do it; I have a gig that evening."

Again, Angelica nodded. "I see."

"Looks like we're back to the drawing board."

Angelica chuckled. "Sure seems like it."

"Are you able to get out much during the week?"

"Not often, I usually have to try and find a babysitter for Ian. I can always find one for the weekends; it's weekdays that are the problem. That's the problem with being a single mom."

Johnny nodded. "I understand, Angelica."

"But will you be taking your daughter to the park on Sunday?"

"Probably, but I don't know when. It'll be later than usual—due to the fact that I have a gig to play Saturday night."

"Well, let's try to meet up at the park again."

Johnny nodded. "Sounds good, Angelica."

"Same here, talk to you later, Johnny."

"Take care, Angelica."

* * *

The following day in the early evening, Angelica had just finished changing Ian, when she heard the sound of her cellphone indicating that she had just received a text message. The caller ID revealed that the number belonged to Seth. Angelica chuckled. _"I could just imagine Susie's reaction, if she was here," _thought Angelica. _"I just finished changing Ian's diaper, and I received a text message from Seth."_

The message was a simple one. It stated, 'Hi, Angelica, care if I call you?'

Angelica paused, before she texted, 'Sure, I can talk for a little bit.'

Within minutes, Angelica's cellphone rang. "Hello?" answered Angelica.

"Hi, Angelica, it's been a long time," responded Seth's distinctive voice.

Angelica smirked. "Yes, it has been. The last time I saw you, you were quite busy."

"…Yeah…yeah, I was," Seth said sadly.

Angelica sighed. "Would you tell me why?"

Seth also sighed. "I can't tell you why, Angelica."

"Surely you can tell me something? Seth, I was ready to settle down as a wife and mother. You can at least owe me an explanation."

"I don't have one, Angelica. I truly don't. I just made a really dumb mistake, and I'm sorry that I made it, but I can't change what I did."

Again, Angelica sighed. "Look, Seth, I'm willing to forget the past. There was a reason why I decided to text you the other day."

"What was the reason?"

"The reason was Ian. He's just as much your son, as he is mine. I'd like to give you the chance to be involved in his life."

Seth paused. "I think I'd like that, Angelica."

Angelica nodded. "Would you like to talk to him?"

"Of course!"

"Give me a minute."

Angelica held her hand over the cellphone's receiver, while she entered her son's nursery. Her son displayed a bright smile, as he played on his toy rocking horse.

"Hi, Ian," Angelica said, while she knelt before her son.

Ian dismounted, and toddled to his mother.

Angelica smiled. "Ian, I have someone that I want you to talk with."

"Who?"

Angelica maintained her smile. "Your daddy."

Angelica placed Ian on her lap, and sat her cellphone next to her. Angelica turned the speaker phone on and said, "Can you hear me, Seth?"

"Yes."

"Ian," began Angelica, "that's your daddy. Can you say 'hello' to him?"

"Hewwo," Ian said, short and to the point.

Seth chuckled. "Hi, Ian, I'm your daddy. How are you?"

"Good," responded Ian, as he placed his stomach against his mother's thighs.

Seth asked his son generic questions about what his favorite foods, colors, books, and cartoons were. Occasionally, Angelica had to assist her son with the answers. She could tell that Seth was nervous about speaking with his son for the first time, but Seth was also able to make Ian smile. And when Ian smiled, Angelica smiled.

Eventually, the first conversation between father and son ended, when Seth said, "I need to talk to your mom again, Ian. But we'll talk later, okay?"

"'Kay," replied Ian.

"Please know that I love you as well, okay?"

Again, Ian replied, "'Kay."

"Bye now."

"Bye."

Angelica kissed Ian's cheek, as she took her cellphone off of speaker phone. "You made me smile, Seth."

"I did?"

Angelica nodded. "When you said that you loved Ian, that was very sweet of you."

"Well, he is my son, after all."

Angelica smiled. "That he is."

"I want to meet him, Angelica, and I also want to meet you."

"Well, perhaps we could arrange something."

"I'm free Friday evening. It would be great, if I could see you and Ian."

"Well," Angelica began; she knew that day was her camping trip with the gang.

"We could meet at Windsor. That's in between where you live, and where I live."

Angelica turned to Ian. _"I'm going to do this for you,"_ she thought. "Okay, Seth, I know a restaurant called Michael's in Windsor. How 'bout we meet you there at six?"

"Sounds good—I can't wait to see you and the baby."

"Okay, but you're buying," Angelica said with a smirk.

Seth laughed. "Don't worry; I think I can afford that."

_"Food, yes; child support, no,"_ thought Angelica with a smile. But instead she said, "Okay, Seth, we'll see you there."

"Bye, Angelica."

"Bye, Seth."

After Angelica closed her cellphone, she stretched out on the floor of Ian's nursery. The sight of his mother on the floor made Ian giggle, as he crawled over to her. Ian sat on Angelica's stomach, which made Angelica smile. She sat upright, and began to tickle Ian. _"Perhaps Seth will soon be tickling his son in this very nursery?"_ she thought.


	17. First Friday in November

**Author's Note**: This is one of the longer chapters that I've written in a while, but I think it has a lot of good drama—especially as we're coming closer to the final chapter. I appreciate those of you who have been following and reviewing the story up to this point.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XVII**

Farewell October, and hello November. The first Friday of the month was a cool-crisp day in Northern California. That afternoon, at the Finster apartment, Ashley was trying to assist Chuckie with his luggage, while Chuckie leaned against a wall protesting.

"I'm not going," Chuckie said.

"But you guys always go on this camping trip every year," said Ashley. "You told me that you've been going on this trip, ever since you were old enough to drive."

"Well, yeah, but you're not going, and you're my wife. And if you're not going, then I'm not going!"

"Chuckie, I'm just feeling a little under the weather—that's all."

"You don't have the common cold, that's for sure. And that's why…"

Chuckie was unable to complete his sentence. He watched, as his wife's face started to change colors. "Are you okay?"

Ashley responded to Chuckie's question by charging into the bathroom and vomiting. Chuckie remained outside the door. He did not want to enter the bathroom.

When he could tell that his wife was all right again, Chuckie repeated, "And that's why I don't want to go."

"Chuckie," a groggy Ashley began, while she forced herself back to a standing position, "I've just caught a 24 hour bug. I remember catching something like this once years ago. I'll be fine. Besides, if you stick around, you'll catch it to."

Chuckie gritted his teeth and sighed. "All right, fine. But I want to call my mom and dad, and your mom and dad. I want them to stop by, and check on you."

A droopy-eyed Ashley nodded.

Chuckie returned the nod. "Very well, I'll go do that now."

But as Chuckie left to call his parents and in-laws, Ashley Finster began to wonder if she was suffering from something else. _"Could it be?"_ she thought.

* * *

At 5:30 that evening, Dil Pickles was driving to a specific address that Dezirae had given him. Dil wore a black dress shirt, rather than his traditional metal shirts. In his car, Dil listened and sang along to Judas Priest's 'Touch of Evil'. But as he did so, Dil changed the lyrics: "You know I want a touch of Dezi! In the night, please set me free. I can't resist a touch of Dezi!" But Dil ceased singing, when he realized that he had arrived at his destination. "Ah, here we are!"

Dil pulled into the driveway of a modest home, and turned off the engine of his vehicle. As he did so, he saw Dezirae exit the home. Dezirae wore a San Francisco 49ers jersey and jeans. In some respects, Dezirae looked like a girl who would be dating a football player instead of a rocker, but perhaps Dil and Dezirae benefited from the statement 'opposites attract.'

"Hey, there!" Dezirae said, as Dil stepped out of his car. She embraced Dil, and the two shared a quick kiss. "You made it!"

Dil smiled. "Did you think I was actually going to miss it?"

Dezirae also smiled, as she held Dil's hands. "I'm almost surprised."

"What?! That I came?"

Dezirae giggled. "No, no, that you're not wearing a metal shirt. You almost seem out of place by not wearing one."

Dil smirked. "Well, damn! Now I'll just have to go back home, and find my most evilest rock shirt, before I can make my return."

Dezirae laughed.

Dil smiled, and pulled Dezirae close. "And here I thought that I looked like a million bucks."

"Oh, trust me," Dezirae began, while she played with Dil's hair, "you do."

* * *

Inside the Pangborn residence, another perspective was taking place. This perspective came from the eyes of Estes Pangborn, who observed the interaction between Dil and his daughter from a window. Estes Pangborn had changed very little from the years that the gang knew him as their junior high school vice principal. He still shaved his head, and continues his daily workout. In many respects, he is still the intimidating individual that the gang remembered from their junior high years.

Pangborn placed a hand against the wall, and continued to observe Dil and Dezirae. When he first learned through his daughter of the charming young rocker she met named Dil Pickles, he was not certain what to think. In his mind, Pangborn said, _"Surely it can't be __that__ Dil Pickles."_ But indeed it was that Dil Pickles, only eight years older.

"I can't believe it!" said Ann Pangborn, who was known to the gang as 'Miss O'Keats'. She had aged very little, since the gang knew her in junior high. She still enjoyed painting and writing poetry in her spare time, and her red hair was ever present. "Is that our little Dil?" she added, while she stood by her husband.

"'Our little Dil?'" responded Pangborn.

Mrs. Pangborn nodded. "I always refer to the children that passed through our hallways as 'our children.' I would refer to Dil as one of our children, just like I would his brother, Tommy." She paused to take another observation of Dil and smiled. "He looks so much the same, yet different at the same time."

"Obviously, look at his hair." Pangborn's expression began to change, as he watched his daughter share a kiss with Dil. The former wrestler turned educator, known for being a terrifying figure on campus, simply grinned.

"Estes?" Mrs. Pangborn said.

Pangborn chuckled. "I just watched Dil kiss my daughter, and I can't even raise my voice. Maybe I'm growing too soft. I certainly couldn't make it as a wrestler anymore with that kind of attitude."

* * *

Dezirae led Dil inside the home, where he greeted his hosts. He shook hands with Mr. Pangborn, and Dil referred to him as 'sir' and 'Mr. Pangborn'. Dil received a hug from Mrs. Pangborn, but on occasion he would accidentally refer to her as 'Miss O'Keats'. Dil also greeted the young members of the Pangborn family—the five-year-old twins. First, was the blonde-haired and green-eyed daughter named Angel. Second, was her red-haired and brown-eyed brother, Christopher.

"Why is your hair long?" asked Angel.

"Because I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David,'" responded Dil, as he tossed his hair. "If you let your brother's hair grow out, he could have hair like me."

"That's not happening anytime soon, Dil," said Pangborn.

Dil turned to Pangborn and smiled. "I'm sure you wrestled a lot of guys with long hair back in your day, sir. In fact, if I remember correctly, didn't you have long hair in one of those photographs from your office?"

Pangborn smiled. "Yes, I did. I used to have long blonde hair, which I think is where Angel gets her hair from. And I did wrestle a lot of guys with long hair, and in fact, I beat a lot of them up." Pangborn paused, before he placed a hand on Dil's shoulder. "In fact, I might have to add one more to my list."

Pangborn patted Dil on the shoulder, before he entered the master room. Dil, however, swallowed a lump. _"I'm sure he's trying to intimidate me,"_ thought Dil. _"But I can't help thinking about Tommy's warning—about what Pangborn would think, if he knew that his daughter and I had sex. Well, I can't change the past. Have to play it cool. And besides, I like Dezirae a lot. I wonder, if she has a 'magical boudoir' that she can take me to, after we leave her parents? Plus, if Pangborn does attack me, I'm sure that I'll have the protection of the 'silver mountain'—Dio will send some beautiful heavy metal angels to protect me. And if anything else, wrestling's not all that real, is it?"_

* * *

Dezirae took Dil's hand, and directed him to the master room. The two sat on the sofa, while the Pangborns sat on chairs opposite of each other, and each held one of their children. Pangborn held Angel, while Mrs. Pangborn held Christopher. Both the Pangborns asked Dil about those he had grown up with—his brother, cousin, and childhood friends. Dil informed Mr. and Mrs. Pangborn on the status of Tommy, Angelica, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Susie, and Kimi. Dil also informed the Pangborns on the status of his parents. Mr. Pangborn asked a number of questions about Chuckie, since he was now a fellow educator. But with Dil as their guest, the Pangborns were certainly interested to know about the young man that they had not seen, since he left junior high.

"Dil," Mrs. Pangborn began, while she pointed to her hair, "how did your hair end up like it did?"

"Well, Miss O'Keats, er sorry…"

Mrs. Pangborn chuckled. "That's okay, Dil. You're not the first one to refer to me by my maiden name. You can call me Ann, if you wish."

"Thank you, Ann. Well, Ann, there are two answers to your question. The first question, as to why my hair is red," Dil began, while he tossed his hair, "you'll have to ask God or Father Gregor Mendel that question. The second question, as to why my hair is long, I can answer that question for you. Simply put, my barber passed away, and I simply haven't found a replacement yet."

Dezirae giggled, as she pinched Dil's shoulders, and played with the tips of his hair.

Mr. and Mrs. Pangborn also chuckled.

"If you don't mind, Dil," began Pangborn, "I'd like to ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Dezirae tells me that you're the singer in a band?"

"Dezirae speaks correctly!" Dil said, while he placed an arm around Dezirae, and pulled her close.

Dezirae blushed.

"I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David!'" continued Dil. "Lead singer of the power metal band Dark Stairway."

"You should hear Dil sing, Daddy," Dezirae said with a hand on Dil's thigh. "He's very good."

Pangborn gave his daughter and her boyfriend a look. "I bet."

"There is something I'm curious to know, Dil," interjected Mrs. Pangborn.

"And what's that?" asked Dil.

"When you were in school, at least in junior high, I always remember that you talked about things related to aliens."

Dil chuckled. "That's true."

"How did you change from aliens to heavy metal music?"

Dil smirked. "Well, it happened after my eighth grade year. I got a job at Chester's, you know, the restaurant?"

Mrs. Pangborn nodded. "Yes, I know the place. Estes and I have had lunch there before."

Dil returned the nod. "Anyway, I got a job there as a dishwasher—first job that I ever had. The cook there, who was about 15 years older than me, was, of course, the boss of the kitchen, so we had to listen to his kind of music, and he was a big heavy metal fan, so we were always listening to some heavy metal or hard rock station. Through him, I was introduced to bands like Dio, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Grave Digger, and so on and so forth. Eventually the music just captured me." Dil paused to hold Dezirae's hand. "I guess to put it another way, Ann, I just gave up one obsession for another."

Mrs. Pangborn chuckled, before she turned to a clock on the wall. "Oh, I need to check on dinner," she said, as she removed Christopher from her lap. "Hope to chat with all of you in a little bit," she added, before she entered the kitchen.

"I have a question for you, Dil," said Pangborn.

"What's that, sir?"

"You told me earlier that you signed to a record deal with the company that Angelica works for, when we talked about her."

Dil nodded. "That's correct."

"Well, what would happen, if this heavy metal thing doesn't work out?"

"Well," began Dil, "I guess I'll just go on to graduate school and become a college professor."

Pangborn's eyes widened.

"I mean, I've got a 3.7 GPA," continued Dil, "so I know that I can get into graduate school. I'm sure Chuckie can give me a good reference. He likes what he's doing."

Pangborn smiled.

"Estes," Mrs. Pangborn called from the kitchen, "the food's ready."

"All right," said Pangborn, before he turned to Dil and Dezirae. "Looks like dinner's ready."

Dil smiled. "Looks like it is as well."

* * *

Around the same time Dil was having his dinner-date with Dezirae, another dinner-date was about to take place. Angelica had just entered the town of Windsor and drove to Michael's. When Angelica arrived in the parking lot, she tried to locate Seth's vehicle—assuming that he drove the same vehicle. She did not see it, but then again, she also had not seen Seth in three years.

Angelica exited the driver's side of her car, and leaned into her car's backseat area. From there, she secured Ian's diaper bag, and unbuckled Ian from his car seat. As she did so, she asked him, "Are you ready to see daddy?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed the two-year-old.

Angelica giggled. She kissed Ian on the forehead, and carried him to the restaurant. As she did, Angelica thought again about what she was doing. She had given up her annual camping trip with her childhood friends to meet someone who had cheated on her three years prior. Angelica told Susie what she was doing, and through Susie, Phil, Lil, Chuckie, and Kimi also knew. Neither Phil, Lil, Chuckie, or Kimi were vocal in their opinion about Angelica's decision, since they did not talk to her as often as Susie did. Susie, however, was vocal. Susie, while not angry with Angelica's decision to meet her former lover, was stunned, when Angelica agreed to do so. Angelica informed Susie that she was not meeting Seth to make herself happy, but rather to give Ian a chance to meet his father. In response, Susie told Angelica to be careful, and to make certain that Seth presents her with a large child support check.

* * *

When Angelica entered the restaurant with Ian, it did not take her long to recognize Seth. He sat at the bar drinking a beer. Seth did not notice Angelica, but Angelica noticed him. Seth had changed little, since Angelica last saw him. Memories returned of Angelica running her fingers through Seth's light brown hair, while she stared into his green eyes.

Eventually the glass behind the bar acted as a mirror, and Seth noticed Angelica's reflection. Seth smiled, and turned to her. "You're a little late, aren't you, Angelica?"

Angelica smirked, while she approached him carrying Ian. Angelica whispered, "I hope that I can have a little bit of forgiveness, since I've been raising your son for the last two years."

Seth chuckled—more in a 'defensive mode' than anything. "Why don't we secure a table; then we can talk?"

Angelica nodded—still maintaining her smirk. "Sounds good."

* * *

Angelica and Seth secured a table and a high chair from the staff. As Angelica began to place Ian in the high chair, Seth said, "Mind if I hold him?"

Angelica turned to Seth and smiled. "Sure, go ahead."

Angelica kissed her son's cheek, before she handed him to his father. Angelica watched her son's body language. Seth may have been Ian's father, but to Ian, Seth was a stranger. Ian was not known to be shy around people, but he certainly appeared to be nervous on Seth's lap. Angelica smiled. "Ian, that's your daddy."

"That's right," added Seth with a smile, and a kiss for Ian's cheek. "I'm your daddy."

Even with the kiss, Ian was not comfortable. Angelica worried that he might start crying. He did not. Instead, he gave his mother a forlorn look and said, "Mommy?"

Angelica took that as a sign. "I think he wants me to hold him," she said, while she took Ian from his father, and placed him on her lap. From Ian's diaper bag, Angelica secured a toy truck to keep Ian occupied.

With her goal accomplished, Angelica returned her attention to Seth. "So," she began, "what have you been doing for the last three years?"

"Been working."

Angelica smiled. "Well, that's a good thing. Doing what?"

"Painting," replied Seth. "I've got a job as a government painter."

"For the state or for the federal government?"

"State."

_"He would never be able to hide from child support services with a job like that,"_ thought Angelica. But instead, she asked Seth, "I take it that you travel all over the state with a job like that?"

"Sometimes—I mean, the state usually tries to find workers within the area that the job is being performed. It's a way for them to cut down on expenses."

Angelica nodded.

Soon a server appeared, and asked what the group would like to order. Angelica ordered for herself and Ian, while Seth ordered for himself, and informed the server that everything would be on one check. When the server returned with drinks, and Ian's re-filled sippy cup, Angelica began to place Ian in the high chair.

"Do you need any help with that?" asked Seth.

"No," Angelica replied, while she secured her fidgeting son in the high chair. "I'm used to it, after doing it for nearly two years."

With Ian secured, Angelica returned to her place at the table. "If you want to help me out with something, you can change his diaper the next time he needs it," she said with a smile.

Seth chuckled, but Angelica could tell that it was a chuckle that meant that he would do nothing of the sort.

"So," Seth began with a smile, "you asked me about work earlier. What about you?"

"I work for Pilot."

"Isn't that where your mom worked?"

Angelica nodded. "I went back to school, got my MBA, and I was able to secure a job on Pilot's board."

"Sounds as though you're doing quite well, Angelica," Seth said, before he took a drink of ice tea. "Just curious, have you been seeing anyone?"

"No, not really—not exactly anyway," Angelica said, before she took a drink of water. "I mean…"

"Yes?" said Seth with a smirk.

"Well, I did have some meetings with the drummer in the band that Dil plays with, but it's not like we're dating or anything."

"Dil?"

"My cousin."

"Oh, yeah, the rocker guy."

"And what about you? Seeing anyone? Anymore children?"

Seth shook his head. "No, no more kids, and I'm not seeing anyone. I haven't been with anyone in about six months."

* * *

After the group had their evening meal, Seth paid the tab, and he escorted Angelica to her car, while she carried Ian. When the three arrived, Seth turned to Angelica and said, "Angelica, would you mind if I hold him, while you take a picture of us on my phone?"

"Sure!"

Seth handed Angelica his cellphone, while she handed him Ian. The toddler still did not appear very comfortable being held by his father.

"Smile, Ian!" Angelica said.

The toddler, however, would not produce one.

Angelica worried that Ian might cry, so she quickly tickled him. Ian giggled, and Angelica quickly took the photograph. It turned out to be a decent picture.

Angelica returned Seth his cellphone, and Seth returned their son to Angelica, who seemed to be much happier in his mother's arms.

"I enjoyed my time with you tonight, Angelica," Seth said with a smile.

"So did I," added Angelica, also with a smile.

"I'm glad that I got to meet my son for the first time," Seth said, while he ran some fingers through Ian's hair.

Ian slightly smiled, but as he did so, he placed his head underneath his mother's chin.

Seth smiled.

So did Angelica. "He seems to be tired."

Seth nodded. "Do you think I can see you again?"

"Sure."

"I'm actually free this upcoming week, on Wednesday actually. There's a place that I'd love to take you to in Santa Rosa. It's called Sharkies."

Angelica sighed. "I don't know, Seth. It's Wednesday night, and I have to work the next day…"

"Not an all night thing or anything like that. It would just be for a few hours. Say we meet at six and stay until eight?"

Angelica nodded. "All right, Seth, I think I can do that."

Seth smiled. "Thanks, Angelica, we'll have some fun!"

Angelica returned the smile. "I'm sure we will."

Seth, maintaining his smile, added, "Well, bye."

Angelica also maintained her smile. "Bye, Seth."

Seth kissed Ian on the forehead, and hugged Angelica—and when Seth leaned in for a kiss, Angelica did not refuse.

Angelica watched Seth walk away, before she placed Ian in his car seat. Ian would probably be awake by the time the two reached home. Before Angelica left the parking lot, she took out her planner. On her calendar, she wrote the date, time, and place that she would meet Seth again. However, Angelica made one mistake. She wrote the time and place correctly, but she wrote this information for Tuesday, rather than Wednesday.


	18. Dark Stairway and No Tommy

**Author's Note**: For those who enjoy the wonderful world of Dil's rants, here you go!

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XVIII**

Ever since he left Dezirae's apartment earlier in the day, Dil had a hard time finding anything that would interest him. He browsed through the television channels, but nothing caught his attention. He turned to the sheet music that he had been working on the other day, but he did not feel like composing. Finally, Dil turned his wall clock. The clock read four in the afternoon. _"Five hours, until I have to perform tonight,"_ thought Dil. _"Well, since it's four, maybe Phil's around, where I can talk to him?"_ Dil dialed Phil's number in his cellphone.

"What's going on, Dil?" answered Phil.

"Not much at all right now, Phil. I'm just trying to kill time, until my gig this evening."

"Where is it that you're playing tonight?"

"Out of this World."

"I know that place—haven't been there in a while, though."

"I've got an interesting guest coming tonight."

"Who?"

"Pangborn."

Phil laughed. "How in the world did you arrange that?"

"It was just something that came up in conversation over the dinner table last night, when I was at the Pangborns. Pangborn said he'd come, and listen to me perform one set."

Again, Phil laughed. "I think I would come just to see Pangborn. Speaking of Pangborn, what's he like? Has he changed much, since we were in junior high?"

"Not really, he's still as intimidating as ever."

"And did he try to intimidate you, Dil?" Phil asked with a look.

"Oh, I think he tried, but he loves me too much. I mean, I'm Dil Pickles. Everybody loves me!"

Once again, Phil laughed. "And Miss O'Keats, what about her?"

"Pretty much the same—still has her love for poetry and all that."

Phil nodded. "So I guess then your dinner-date with Dezirae was a good one?"

"Of course, but it was the 'after dinner-date' that was even nicer!" Dil said with a grin.

Phil smirked. "Oh, and what was that like?"

Dil maintained his grin, but he added a chuckle. "Well, I'd say that we left the Pangborns around eight, and we drove to The Friendly Tap. I put on some of my beautiful heavy music, and we had some drinks. We kissed a number of times during the songs, and at certain points, during some of the songs that I played, I picked up Dezirae and carried her over my shoulder around the bar. I'm sure the guys in the bar were happy, when they got to see Dezirae's pretty red thong, but unfortunately for them, only I have access to touch and play with Dezirae's thong."

Phil laughed.

Yet Dil maintained his grin. "But that's not all."

"Oh, there's more?" chuckled Phil.

"Oh, yes! Eventually, we left the bar, and journeyed to Dezirae's place. Dezirae told me that she was going to put on some of her kind of music. It was this poppy-R&B shit, and, of course, the music sucked, but I just put that as noise in the background."

"By drinking more beer?"

"Nope, by observing, instead, Dezirae's 'dance of seduction.'"

Phil laughed.

But Dil still grinned. "Yes, she seduced me into her 'cave of delights.'"

Again, Phil laughed.

"And I have to say that it was quite good. For a moment, I thought I was even over the silver mountain, and Dio had to look up at me. But he did smile, and give me the big thumbs up and a headbanger gesture."

Once again, Phil laughed. "Dil, can I say something bluntly to you?"

"I don't know, Phil; can you?"

Phil chuckled. "Dylan Prescott Pickles…"

"Yes, Phillip Richard Bill DeVille?"

"I don't know if my sister and I dropping you on your head, when you were little, had anything to do with your unique personality, but, Dil, you are one crazy motherfucker!"

Dil laughed. "Well, Phil, you've asked me about my night last night, so how about I ask you about yours?"

"Why sure, Dil."

"How was the camping trip last night?"

Phil smirked. "Well, that's certainly a change in topics."

Dil grinned.

"Well, it was different than normal. I mean, you weren't there; Tommy wasn't there; Angelica wasn't there…"

"Wait! Angelica wasn't there?"

"Yeah, I figured you would have heard about this—being her cousin and all."

"No, I don't always talk to Angelica. Why didn't she go?"

"She went on a date with Seth."

"Seth?!"

Phil nodded. "Yep, the guy who fathered Ian."

Dil sighed. "That shocks me. I thought Seth had vanished off the planet."

"So did I, but, according to Susie, Seth founds some means of contacting Angelica."

Dil smirked. "I hope in the form of a paycheck."

Phil laughed. "Now, I don't know anything about that."

"Still, it's odd that Angelica would agree to meet with someone who cheated on her, when she was pregnant."

"According to Susie, she decided to meet Seth, because of Ian."

"Because of Ian? That doesn't make any sense."

"Angelica apparently wanted to give Ian the chance to know his father."

Dil nodded. "Okay, that makes some sense."

"Other than that, I do have some news that's a little more positive."

"And what's that?"

"Well, it looks like Chuckie's going to be a daddy."

"Really?!"

Phil nodded. "Yeah, Ashley called Chuckie yesterday. She thought that she had some 24 hour bug, but she asked her mom to buy her a pregnancy test, and the results came back positive."

Dil smirked. "I wonder if it's going to be a Republican?"

Phil laughed.

And Dil chuckled. "I just couldn't resist, but I'm happy for Chuckie and Ashley."

Phil smiled. "Same here…Oh! There's something else I wanted to ask you."

"What's that?"

"Have you talked to your brother lately?"

"No, I haven't talked to Tommy in a while."

"Nobody else has either."

"Really, what do you mean?"

"Tommy won't return our calls, text messages, emails, anything. I mean, we're his childhood friends, and he won't talk to us."

"…That is odd. I need to ask Mom and Dad, if they have spoken to him any."

Phil nodded. "Chuckie's real upset with him; I can tell you that."

"Why, because he won't talk to him?"

"Partially, but Chuckie's real upset for what Tommy did to Kimi."

"What did Tommy do to her?"

Phil sighed. "The best way I can describe it, is to say that before he left, Tommy basically told Kimi that she should leave her job, and come to LA. When she didn't, he blew up at her."

Dil nodded. "The way it sounds like to me is that Tommy told her that, in order for her to be with him, she has to give up her career."

"Yeah, that's how I understood it as well."

"…I have to say that sure doesn't sound like my brother."

"Same here, but maybe Hollywood has changed him?"

Dil sighed. "I don't know…Anyway, thanks for giving me the news. I hope to see you tonight, Phil."

"I think you'll see me, Dil—just to see Pangborn."

Dil laughed. "Okay, see ya, Phil."

"Later, Dil."

* * *

The time was 8:30 in the evening at the Out of This World nightclub, and Dil Pickles had just finished smoking his half a joint in the owner's office. After he placed the remains in an ashtray, Dil left the office for the bar area, and ordered a Bud Light. Once he received his beer, Dil leaned against one of the pillars in the club. For this particular evening, Dil wore what he called his 'Deep Purple robe'—a robe that contained a very dark shade of purple and scarlet. Dil took a drink from his beer, and heard a sound from his cellphone indicating that he had received a text-message. He hoped that the message had come from Tommy, but instead it came from Dezirae.

'Hey, Dil! I'm just now leaving my apartment. My dad just called me to say that he's leaving his house, so we should arrive around the same time. Also, my friend, Rachel, is coming to. See you later!'

Dil smiled. In response, he texted Dezirae the following message, 'Okay, see you soon!'

As Dil closed his cellphone, a voice called to him. The voice belonged to Johnny, who also carried a Bud Light.

Dil smiled. "What's happening, Johnny?"

"There's something I forgot to ask you earlier."

"What's that?"

"How was your camping trip?"

"Can't tell you, Johnny," Dil said, before he took a drink. "I didn't go."

"Really?"

Dil nodded. "Yep, I had a dinner-date last night with my new girlfriend and her family."

"Is she that girl that you met, when we played at The Nightlife?"

Again, Dil nodded. "The very one."

Johnny took a drink. "Well then, I guess I'll have to ask Angelica about it, when I see her at the park."

"Actually, you won't be able to," Dil said, before he took a drink.

"How come?"

"Angelica didn't go either. She apparently met up with her baby's daddy."

Johnny turned to the floor. "Oh," he said sadly, before he returned to Dil. "I see." Johnny finished the last of his beer and added, "Well, I'm going to have another before we start playing. See you on stage, Dil."

As Johnny walked away, Dil heard him sigh. _"I wonder what's wrong with him?"_ thought Dil.

But Dil would not have time to ponder on Johnny's dilemma. Another voice called his name. This time the voice belonged to Phil.

Dil smiled, and presented Phil with a headbanger gesture. Phil returned it, and Dil said, "Glad you were able to make it, Phil." Dil paused to observe Phil's shirt. Phil wore a replica Led Zeppelin shirt from their last American tour. "Interesting shirt, Phil," Dil said with a gesture.

"Got it at Hot Topic. I mean everyone loves Led Zeppelin."

Dil smirked.

"By the way, I didn't see either Pangborn or Dezirae, when I came in."

"That's because they haven't arrived yet, but they should be here pretty soon." Dil paused to take a drink. "By the way, Dezirae's friend, Rachel, is going to be here. I remember you chatting with her, when we were at Mike's party, before all that shit went down."

"Yeah, I got her number that night."

Dil gave Phil a look. "Really?"

Phil nodded. "I've called her, and texted her some. But to be honest, I don't think she likes me very much."

Dil took another drink. "Well, tonight is always a new night."

Phil nodded, but then he chuckled. "I wonder what Pangborn is going to think of your music?"

"He's going to love it. It's going to be a beautiful night of heavy metal, courtesy of Dark Stairway."

Again, Phil chuckled. "And the music's going to reach all the way up to the heavens, right?"

"Of course," responded Dil. "And when God hears us, he's going to command the angels to perform like us."

Phil laughed.

And Dil smiled, before he finished the last of his beer. "Well, I'd better get ready—show's about to start. I'll try to talk with you during the break, Phil."

"Sounds good. See ya, Dil—oh, wait!"

"What is it?"

"I wondered if you tried to get a hold of your brother?"

"I left him a message, but he hasn't responded back to me."

"Okay, see you during the break."

* * *

The clock struck nine. Nearly 100 people had gathered to hear Dark Stairway perform. Among those present were Dezirae, Rachel, and Pangborn. Pangborn, who wore a Who t-shirt, certainly looked unique. Dil, however, did not have much time to talk with them—although he did answer some questions from Pangborn about his robe. Nevertheless, Dil and Dezirae shared a quick kiss, when she was away from her father and friend. Dil asked Dezirae to do whatever she could to help bring Phil and Rachel closer together. Before Dezirae left, the two shared another quick kiss; then Dil grabbed his cordless microphone.

"We have said goodbye to October, and hello to November," began Dil, as he approached the stage. "But the spirit of that last day in October continues to linger on. Even though All Saints Day tried to conquer it, there is a presence of evil that remains."

Now on stage, Dil grinned at Dark Stairway's audience. "Yes, it is true—the darkness of Halloween hasn't left us yet. And how is it that we can come to understand this presence? Why through a passage from the Book of Revelation! And for those who want to, you are more than willing to recite the King James English with me: 'Woe to you, O Earth and sea…'"

Many in the crowd began to cheer, and recite the words from the Bible with Dil.

"'For the Devil sends the Beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short. Let them who hath understand reckon the number of the Beast. For it is a human number. It's number is six hundred and sixty-six.'"

With the conclusion of Dil's introduction, Dark Stairway began to play the opening of Iron Maiden's 'The Number of the Beast'. The opening went well, but when it came time for Dil to wail, he almost ruined it. Not because his timing was off, or because his voice went flat, but because Johnny misplayed the note. Dil turned to Johnny briefly, as did the other members of the band, but the song was salvaged, and those in the crowd did not seem to notice. When 'The Number of the Beast' concluded, Dark Stairway played a cover of the Blue Oyster Cult's 'Nosferatu', which was followed by a cover of Black Sabbath's 'Disturbing the Priest'. Once the Sabbath cover concluded, Dark Stairway played three of their original pieces—'Speed Kills', 'Phantom Train', and 'Dark Side'.

After the conclusion of 'Dark Side', Dil once again spoke to the crowd. "As we leave the 'dark side', we try to turn to something more positive—in a sense at least. This song is dedicated to Monika Dannemann and Jimi Hendrix, but also to a few others as well. If this shall be our fate in the end, so much the better for all of us. This is 'We'll Burn the Sky'!"

When Dark Stairway's cover of The Scorpions concluded, Dil announced to the crowd, "We're going to take a short break."

Dil turned off his microphone, and turned to Johnny. "You all right, man? You kind of screwed up during 'The Number of the Beast'."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I guess my mind was just somewhere else."

"It's all right. I just thought it was odd, when it happened. Well, I've got some people to see, so see you after the break."

"Yeah, see ya, Dil." But after Dil left, Johnny sighed. "I need another drink."

* * *

"So what did you think, Mr. Pangborn?" asked Dil, while he stood by the benches where Dezirae, Pangborn, Rachel, and Phil sat.

"Well, Dil," Pangborn began, before he finished the last of his bourbon, "you've gone from a Sherpa hat to a robe."

Phil chuckled.

"And it's a damn good robe, I might add. It scares the hell out of people. Did you like any of the songs that I performed?"

"Well, that last one was pretty good."

"The song 'We'll Burn the Sky' from The Scorpions?"

Pangborn nodded. "Yeah, you mentioned Jimi Hendrix in that song. Why?"

"Monika Dannemann, who was Jimi Hendrix's last girlfriend—and one of the last people to see him alive—wrote the lyrics to that song, after he passed away. The way that I look at it, in death, when two lovers reunite, they'll burn the sky together. It's always been a song that I enjoy."

"Well, that's interesting to know, Dil."

Dil smiled. "Thanks." But his eyes turned to Pangborn's empty glass. "Looks like your drink is history, and I need to visit the bar. Care to join me?"

Pangborn shook his head. "I don't think so, Dil. I told Ann that I would be back home after the first set. Besides, since my wrestling days ended, I don't really do stuff like this anymore. It's what happens, when you stop living like a kid."

Again, Dil smiled, and extended his hand. "Well, thanks for coming out."

"My pleasure," Pangborn said, as he shook Dil's hand. But as he did so, Pangborn decided to apply some extra pressure to his grip.

Dil gritted his teeth. _"Damn, he's strong!"_ he thought. However, he was not going to let Pangborn know that he had hurt him—even though Pangborn could tell. Instead, Dil turned to Dezirae, Rachel, and Phil. "What about you guys? Want to visit the bar?"

"I will!" said Dezirae.

Dil smiled. "Why of course you will," he said, while he wrapped an arm around Dezirae's waist.

Dezirae giggled.

Pangborn smiled at the couple.

Dil turned to Rachel and Phil. "Well, how about it? Care to join us?"

"Yeah, I'll go," said Phil.

"Sure, I'll go," added Rachel.

"All right then," began Dil, "let's have some drinks, before I have to start singing again."

"Goodnight to all of you," Pangborn said.

"Goodnight, sir," said Dil.

"Goodnight, Daddy," added Dezirae.

As Pangborn left the nightclub, Dezirae, Rachel, and Phil made their way to the bar. Dil, however, remained behind.

"Dil, aren't you coming?" asked Dezirae. "You're the one who invited us to the bar."

"Yeah, I am; just give me a second," replied Dil, as he turned on his cellphone. "I want to check and see, if I received a message from my brother."

"Have you?" asked Phil, while he stood next to Dil.

Dil checked his messages. "No."

"That's just odd," said Phil. "I hope Tommy's okay."

"Is something wrong with him?" asked Dezirae.

"Not that I know of," responded Dil. "If he was, I'm sure I'd be receiving messages from Mom and Dad. He just for some reason isn't returning our messages."

"It's just odd for Tommy to act this way," said Phil.

"That it is," said Dil. "I'm going to send him a text-message, and when I get home, I'm going to send him a message on Facebook. If he doesn't respond to those, well…"

"Well, what?" asked Phil.

"Then the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Avon Lady are all going to pay Tommy a visit."

"Eh?" said Phil.

"You'll understand later, if it comes to that."


	19. Deja Vu

**Author's Note**: This chapter turned out to be a little longer that I originally planned, but we are closing in on the final chapters. I appreciate those who have continued to read and review my story, and I hope that will continue with the upcoming final chapters. Also, I would like to give a "shout-out" to Jose Ramiro for his excellent "Heavy Metal Dil" image that he drew on Deviant Art.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XIX**

Some crows cawed outside of Dil Pickles' apartment on this cool-Sunday morning. Inside the apartment were a number of 'hung-over' individuals. Dil hosted an after-hours party, after Dark Stairway finished their final set, and he invited his band members, Dezirae, Phil, and Rachel to the after-hours party. All excepted, including Johnny, which was shocking, since he usually did not accept invitations for parties on Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings. Dil thought that Johnny seemed out of character, but Johnny also left early.

In the master bedroom, Dil—with an arm around Dezirae—checked the time. It was slightly after nine in the morning. _"I'm sure he's messaged me by now,"_ thought Dil. He quickly kissed Dezirae's cheek, and quietly grabbed his pants. However, he was unable to keep Dezirae asleep.

"Where are you going, Dil?" asked a tired Dezirae from beneath the covers.

"I'm going to check and see if my brother decided to message me."

"Why are you going to use your computer? Can't you use your iPhone?"

Dil smiled, before he gave Dezirae a quick kiss. "I want to check and see if we still have guests."

Dil quietly opened his bedroom door, and quietly closed it. He was aware that he and Dezirae were not the only people inside his apartment. Phil, Rachel, and Dil's bandmates—with the exception of Johnny—spent the night. Dil did not want to wake them, if they were still present. Of the Dark Stairway members, Andrew and Chris were asleep on the floor. Dil did not see James, so he assumed that James had left earlier that morning. But one scene made Dil smile—Phil and Rachel. At the night club, the two were very talkative, and their chemistry continued during the after-hours party. When Dil discovered them, they were cuddled on his couch. _"It looks like Dezirae worked her magic,"_ he thought. _"One of her many talents,"_ he added with a smirk.

As Dil logged onto his computer, he heard a tired voice say, "Hey, Dil."

Dil smiled. The voice belonged to Phil. Dil turned to see a smiling Phil, who cuddled a tired Rachel. "Good morning there, sunshine. Did you sleep well?"

Phil smirked. "I kind of had to work my way to it. Rather than let us sleep peacefully, you had to play your music from your bedroom."

Dil returned the smirk. "Well, let me put it this way. Would you have rather heard my music, or heard something else?"

Phil chuckled. "Okay, I see your point."

Rachel also chuckled, while she ran some fingers against Phil's chest.

Dil smiled, as he turned back to his computer.

"What are you looking up?" asked Phil.

"I'm looking up to see, if my brother decided to message me back."

"Did he?"

"…No."

"That's just odd."

"Yeah…yeah, it is." But in his thoughts, Dil said, _"Well, I guess desperate times call for a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, and the Avon Lady all rolled into one."_

* * *

Shortly after one in the afternoon, Angelica Pickles found herself at the park with Ian. Ian played in the sandbox, while Angelica sat on the edge of it. Normally they were joined by Johnny and his daughter, but on this Sunday afternoon, Johnny and Austra were not present.

"Mommy, where's Austra?" Ian asked, while he placed his hands on his mother's thighs.

"You know that's a good question, baby," Angelica replied, while she ran some fingers through Ian's blonde locks.

Angelica secured her cellphone, and texted Johnny. 'Hey, Johnny! It's Angelica, and I'm at the park with Ian. He was asking me about Austra. Are you taking your daughter to the park today?'

When Johnny received the text-message from Angelica, a part of him did not want to respond, and if it was just him and Angelica involved in this conversation, he would not respond—at least for the moment. However, this conversation did not just involve Angelica and Johnny. It also involved Ian, and Johnny thought that it would be wrong for him not to send some type of message to a two-year-old boy. Therefore, Johnny sent this message: 'Hey, Angelica, I was late getting around today, so I won't be seeing you at the park today—sorry about that.' Ironically, Johnny did indeed take his daughter to the park, but it was after he assumed Angelica would not be there.

* * *

The first Tuesday in November was Election Day in the United States. Angelica, like other Americans, casted her vote, and at 4:30 in the afternoon, she was at her apartment, after she picked up Ian from daycare. When she arrived, Susie was present. Susie agreed to babysit for Angelica, until she returned home that evening.

"I should be back sometime after nine," Angelica said.

"Okay. When you come back, I hope you have a large check from Seth," said Susie.

Angelica chuckled, before she entered Ian's room.

Ian was playing with some toys next to his crib. Angelica knelt beside him. "Ian, I'm going to be away for a few hours, and Susie's going to watch you. I need you to be a good boy for her. Okay?"

"'Kay!" responded Ian, who seemed to be more interested in his toys, than in his mother's words.

Angelica smiled. She kissed Ian on the forehead and added, "Bye, sweetie."

Before she left her residence, Angelica re-informed Susie of when she would be back, and Susie re-informed Angelica to come back with a large child support check. Angelica smiled, as she left her apartment.

Inside her car, Angelica decided to send a quick text-message to Seth. 'Hey, Seth, it's Angelica. I'm just about to leave my apartment, so you'll see me in a little over an hour.' Seth, however, did not receive this message. If he would have, he could have saved himself from the embarrassment that was soon to follow.

* * *

Shortly after six o'clock, Susie was watching the East Coast results from the American Presidential Election on the television in Angelica's bedroom, when her cellphone rang. The Caller ID revealed that the number belonged to Angelica. _"That's odd,"_ thought Susie. _"I wouldn't expect to hear from her right now. Maybe she just wants to check on Ian?"_ Susie opened her cellphone and said, "Hello?"

"Susie, I'm coming home. I should be back shortly after seven."

"Wait! What about your meeting with Seth?"

Angelica chuckled. "Let's just say it was a disaster of biblical proportions."

"You didn't get a check?"

Angelica laughed. "And then some! I'll tell you about it, after I get home. Has Ian been well behaved?"

"For the most part, he's been okay. He's watching a _Spongebob_ DVD right now. He did get a little upset, when I wanted to watch some of the presidential election on the television in the living room, when he wanted to watch cartoons. So, I'm just watching it live on your bedroom TV."

Angelica chuckled. "Well, he's a baby, but Ian's generally pretty good with sharing time with others. But, I'll have a little chat with him about that later. Anyway, I'll see you sometime after seven."

"Okay, Angelica, see you then."

* * *

Shortly after seven, Ian was watching a _Spongebob_ DVD, and Susie was watching more of the results from the presidential election. On the particular news channel Susie was watching one of the anchors called the election for Barack Obama, when Angelica entered her apartment.

"Mommy!" exclaimed Ian, as he toddled to his mother.

Angelica giggled. "Hey, baby!" She scooped Ian up, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and a tickle for his tummy. Angelica also smirked, when she could tell that Ian needed a diaper change. "Were you a good boy for Susie?"

Ian nodded.

"Oh?" Angelica said with a look. "I happened to hear that you threw a little fit, when you didn't get to watch your cartoons, when you wanted to."

Ian turned away.

Angelica smiled. "Were you a little bit of a bad boy, Ian?"

Ian said nothing.

Angelica maintained her smile. "You know what you're supposed to do, when you've misbehaved, right?"

Ian nodded.

Angelica returned Ian to the floor, and followed behind him, as he toddled to Susie, who stood in the doorway of Angelica's bedroom.

"Sowwie, Susie," Ian said.

"That's all right, Ian," Susie said with a chuckle, while she ran some fingers through Ian's hair. "You're a sweet boy."

After being forgiven from Susie, Ian returned to his _Spongebob_ cartoon, while his mother chatted with Susie.

"Susie, I've got a favor to ask you."

"What's that?"

"Will you pour me a glass of wine, and you can pour one for yourself—or fix yourself whatever kind of drink that you'd like? I need to change Ian; then I can tell you about what happened."

"Okay, sure."

* * *

From Angelica's kitchen, Susie poured two glasses of white wine. She waited a couple of minutes, before she decided to take a sip. Angelica entered the kitchen a few minutes later. Susie handed Angelica her wine glass. "Did Ian give you any problems?" she asked with a smirk.

Angelica returned the smirk. "No more than usual."

"Unlike Seth?" Susie added.

Angelica maintained her smirk. "Yeah, unlike him."

"So what happened?"

Angelica sipped her wine. "Well, I arrived in Santa Rosa to the place in question—this place called Sharkies, which was an interesting place for Seth and me to meet anyway."

"Why's that?" asked Susie, before she took a sip of wine.

"The place was basically a pool hall. When you walked inside the place, on one side were a bunch of pool tables and on the other side was the bar area. I can guarantee you that if California still allowed smoking in businesses that place would have been filled with smoke."

"Doesn't sound like the ideal place to bring a date to."

"Absolutely not," Angelica said, before she took another sip. "Anyway, most people in the bar were watching the results of the election—which I guess is the one time politics would be favorably discussed in a bar—but there was another area inside the bar that had these booths that were away from everything. Where these booths were at, it was dimly lit, so you couldn't really see as well, as you could other areas of the bar."

"Right?"

"So I walk into that area, and I see Seth. Seth, however, doesn't see me, and he had this look on his face like he was high, having sex, or maybe a combination of both."

Susie chuckled.

Angelica took another sip of wine. "Then he notices me, and he starts to freak out."

"What do you mean?"

"He wonders what I'm doing there, and I told him that I came to see him. That we arranged this date, but he told me that the date was supposed to be tomorrow."

"So you came the wrong day?"

Angelica nodded. "I must have written the wrong day down in my planner, but since Seth was there, and I was there, it wouldn't have been a big deal, you would think, right?"

"Right."

"Well, it was. When I tried to approach the booth where Seth was located, he seemed very reluctant for me to come closer to him, and it didn't take me very long to see why."

"What was the reason?"

"There was a girl under Seth's table," Angelica said, before she took another sip of wine. "You can probably guess what was happening there, even though I didn't see it."

Susie nodded. "I can."

"After that I promptly left."

Susie took a sip of wine. "Did Seth try to stop you?"

Angelica nodded. "He did, although I think that it took him longer that normal—probably because he needed to get his pants zipped up first."

Susie laughed.

Angelica took a sip. "Anyway, I told Seth that if he calls me, messages me, texts me, or anything like that, my next call is going to be to California's Child Protective Services to ask for two years of back payments and a check every month."

Again, Susie laughed. "You'll never hear from him again."

Angelica smiled, but it was a sad smile. "No, probably not."

"Why do you seem so sad? Seth just revealed that he's once again a piece of shit. You're lucky that you saw it early."

Angelica sighed. "I just feel bad, because I did this for Ian. I wanted to give Ian the chance to know his father."

Susie smiled, before she took another sip of wine. "You know, Angelica, based on what you told me, I don't think Ian felt very comfortable around Seth."

"That's true, in a way. When we met in Windsor, Ian did not seem very comfortable around him at all."

Susie maintained her smile. "Perhaps as a baby, Ian could sense something about Seth that you couldn't."

Angelica smiled. "Perhaps."

"You know, I could think of someone who would be a very good father figure for Ian; based on what you've told me."

"And who's that?"

"The drummer in Dil's band."

"Johnny?!" said Angelica.

Susie nodded.

Angelica laughed.

"Why are you laughing? I know that you like him."

"I do, but…"

"But what?"

Angelica finished the last of her wine. "I guess I've just been worried to get into another relationship. That incident with Seth really hurt me, and now it's happened again."

"I know, Angelica. I was there. I'm not going to try and tell you who to date, but you can't live in a prison of fear and sadness forever. It simply takes the fun out of life." Susie finished her wine and added, "Just something to think about."

* * *

After Ian went to bed, Angelica browsed through the channels on her bedroom television. Nothing truly interested her. One show disgusted her, MTV's _16 and Pregnant_. _"I can't believe their glamorizing that!"_ thought Angelica. _"But, at the same time, I'm sure I would have found the show interesting ten years ago."_

Eventually, Angelica turned off her television, and grabbed her cellphone. She sent Johnny a text-message. 'Hey, Johnny, it's Angelica. Are you busy? There's something that I want to ask you.'

When Johnny received the text-message, he, at first, ignored it. He was still reluctant to respond. Eventually, however, he gave in. 'Hey, Angelica. No, I'm not busy. What do you want to ask me?'

Johnny's question created a 'texting dialogue'.

Angelica: _Do you guys have a gig on Friday?_

Johnny: _No, we don't. _

Angelica: _What was the name of that one club you said that wanted to take me to?_

Johnny: _The Rockwell. What about it?_

Angelica: _I wondered if you might like to go there this Friday—assuming that I can find a babysitter for Ian? _

Angelica's question did not receive an immediate response. Johnny struggled to find the right words. Eventually, he came to a response that he found satisfactory.

Johnny: _I'd like to, Angelica, but there's something that I need to ask you first._

Angelica: _What's that?_

Johnny: _Are you trying to get back with your ex-boyfriend?_

Angelica: _Where did you hear that from?_

Johnny: _From Dil at a gig. He said that you didn't go on your camping trip, so you could meet up with your ex-boyfriend._

Angelica: _I agreed to meet Seth for the sole purpose of giving him a chance to know his son. That attempt turned out to be a disaster. I told Seth that I'm done with him, and if he contacts me, I'm contacting child support services. I doubt I'll hear from him again._

Johnny: _Probably not._

Angelica: _So do you want to go out with me or not?_

Johnny: _Well, let's see about that…why sure!_

Angelica: _LOL! Okay and I thought of something else._

Johnny: _What's that?_

Angelica: _If I'm unable to find a sitter for Ian, would you like to come to my place?_

Johnny: _Sure. Sounds like a date._

Angelica: _Sure does. I'll keep you updated on what's going to be going on for me in the next couple of days._

Johnny: _Sounds good, Angelica. I hope to see you then._

Angelica: _Same here—goodnight, Johnny._

Johnny: _Goodnight, Angelica._


	20. Tommy Lost, Tommy Found

**Author's Note**: We are closing slowly to the end, but we still are not quite there yet. There is still some unfinished business to take care of. With that being said, I appreciate those who have followed my story, and are continuing to review it. Please let the reviews continue!

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XX**

On Thursday, shortly after three in the afternoon, Tommy Pickles returned to his apartment. Returning home at three in the afternoon would seem like an easy day for most people, but not for Tommy. Tommy's day started at five in the morning, and he was at the studio within an hour. Tommy was fairly certain who would play the role of Nicholas II, but he was still uncertain as to who would play the role of Alexandra. However, for a moment, Tommy did not want to think about directing. He simply wanted to relax, but a knock on his door prevented him from doing so. "I wonder who that could be?" he mumbled.

Tommy looked through his door's peephole, but he did not see anyone. _"That's odd,"_ he thought, _"unless that knock was for another apartment's door?"_

Tommy opened his apartment's door. To his right, he saw no one, but out of the corner of his left eye, he noticed a fist that mimicked knocking. The owner of the fist was his brother, Dil, who wore a DIO t-shirt.

"Knock! Knock!" said Dil. "You've just received a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, and the Avon Lady all rolled into one!"

"Dil, what are you doing here?!"

Dil smirked. "Perhaps I'm here to tell you that your membership in the Jehovah's Witness Protection Program is expiring at the end of this month. Perhaps I'm here, because I'm on a pilgrimage to see Dio," he added with a gesture to his shirt. "Or perhaps I'm here, because I wanted to see my big brother."

Tommy turned to his apartment. "Come inside, Dil," he added with a gesture.

Dil entered, and Tommy closed the door. It had been some time, since Dil visited Tommy's apartment that he wanted to see if the interior had changed much. If one could observe Tommy's and Dil's apartments side-by-side, one could probably notice that the two were brothers, but with obviously different interests. While Dil's apartment had posters and tapestries of various musicians and bands, Tommy's apartment was filled with posters of various movies. Three movie posters appeared to stand out the most—_Scars_, _Twilight of the Gods_, and _Bloodstone_. These three films were the ones that Tommy had directed.

"Where's your poster for _Nicholas and Alexandra_?" asked Dil.

"You mean the one from the 1970s?"

Dil shook his head. "No, I mean the one that you're directing."

"It hasn't been made yet. We still don't have a full cast yet." Tommy turned to his refrigerator and added, "Dil, can I get you something to drink? Would you like a beer or something different?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah, I'll take a beer; I just hope you have some good beer."

Tommy laughed. "Don't worry, Dil. I think it will be to your satisfaction."

Tommy secured two Bud Light bottles, and handed one to Dil.

"Gourmet beer!" Dil said with a smile.

Tommy chuckled, before he took a drink of his beer. "Anyway, Dil, to be serious for a moment, what are you doing here? What about school?"

"I emailed my professors, and asked them, if we had anything serious happening on this date. When I was given the negative, I bought a round trip ticket from home to LA."

Tommy took another drink. "But what are you doing here?"

Dil also took a drink. "To see you. You wouldn't respond to my messages, and you wouldn't respond to anyone else's messages. The only people you seem to talk to are Mom and Dad, and that's mostly to tell them that you're still alive."

"I've been really busy, Dil…"

"And you weren't busy before? You were too busy that you couldn't leave a message to childhood friends, your cousin, or your little brother?"

"Dil, this is the most important movie that I've ever done…"

"You said the same thing about those movies," interjected Dil, as he pointed to the posters of Tommy's previous movies.

"Those films are nothing compared to what I'm doing now."

Dil took another drink. "That may be true, but when you first made those films, they were important to you at the time…"

"And they still are."

"But you still would talk to us, if we called or messaged you." Dil took another drink. "The point is, big brother, I don't think it's the movie you're working on that has caused you to practically ignore your friends and family," Dil added with a gesture to himself. "I think it's something else."

Tommy took a drink. "And what do you think that is, little brother?"

Dil took a drink. "I think it has something to do with a woman named Kimberly Finster."

"Kimi?!"

Dil nodded.

"What makes you think so?"

Dil took another drink. "Something happened between you and her, Tommy. I've heard what other people have to say, but what do you have to say?"

Tommy took a drink. "By 'other people', who do you mean?"

"I got my information from Phil."

"And Phil got his information from whom?"

"I would assume Kimi, since she was at the camping trip."

"What did Phil tell you?"

"Before I tell you what Phil told me, how 'bout you tell me your side of the story, so I can see if there are any differences?"

Tommy nodded. "All right, that sounds fair enough." Tommy finished the last of his beer, and placed it on his counter. After he did so, he proceeded to tell his brother about the events that took place in Kimi's apartment—that he needed to return to LA, and Kimi refused to come with him. "Now, with that being said," continued Tommy, "is that much different from what Phil told you?"

Dil shook his head, and finished the last of her beer. "Not really, but what's your reaction to it, Tommy?"

"My reaction to what?"

"What Kimi said to you?"

"I think I already told you, Dil."

"That she should leave her career, and follow you to LA?"

"I wasn't asking her to leave her career."

"But you were implying it. You may not have explicitly said it, but you certainly implied it."

"Dil, if she wants to be with me, she has to come to LA. And I'm not asking her to give up her career. She could easily get a job with the _LA Times_."

"In these economic times?" Dil asked with a look. "I don't think so."

Tommy sighed, but rather than respond to his brother's comment, he said, "Would you like another drink?"

Dil nodded. "I'll take one more."

Tommy entered his kitchen and secured two more Bud Lights. He handed one to Dil. "Look, Dil," Tommy began, as he opened the bottle, "my future is in LA. Our hometown is nice, but my future isn't there. It's here. Let me describe it another way. Are you still seeing that one girl that's Pangborn's daughter?"

"Dezirae? Yes."

"Let's say you make it big into music. That your album is a huge success. You're touring all over the world—playing in all those big metal festivals that you always told me about."

Dil nodded. "Yes?"

"And then Dezirae tells you that she's tired of you being on the road." Tommy took a drink. "What would you do? True, you can make money playing in the clubs in our hometown, but that's not where the real success is. Again, Dil, what would you do?"

Dil took a gulp of his fresh beer. "I would work something out, Tommy. I'd bring Dezirae on the road with me. I'd do everything I could to make my relationship work." Dil paused to take another drink. "Dezirae's not a girl that I'd want to lose, because I truly do love her."

Tommy chuckled.

"Why are you chuckling?"

"That statement, 'Because I truly do love her.' Dil, you don't even have a clue what love is."

"I don't?!" Dil began, as he stood from his chair. "But I suppose you do? So tell me, what is it, Tommy? What is it, big brother?"

Tommy said nothing.

Dil scoffed, and returned to his chair. "I thought as much. You don't know. You mock me for saying that I love Dezirae, yet you can't tell me what love is. Well, Tommy, there is one thing I can tell you."

Tommy looked at Dil, and waited for him to continue.

"I can tell you that the way I feel about Dezirae, you obviously don't feel about Kimi."

"You don't know that," Tommy said in a low voice.

"Maybe I don't, but let me put it this way. In the New Testament, in the Book of James, the author states that 'faith without works is dead.' The idea behind that statement is that if a person has faith, people will see it. Therefore, if you feel about Kimi, the same way that I feel about Dezirae, I should be able to see it, and quite frankly, I don't see it. Maybe it is there, but I don't see it."

Tommy said nothing.

"Well then," began Dil, "I guess I should step outside, and call a cab to take me to the closest and safest Motel 6 in town. Thanks again for the beers, Tommy."

"You don't need to do that, Dil."

"And why's that?"

"Because I want you to stay here this evening. I have a lot of things I want to share with you. Maybe over another drink?"

Dil smiled. "Okay, Tommy, I'll stay with you, but I do have a request."

"And what's that?"

"Would you take me to Dio's grave? I want to play one of the songs on our album that I think he'll enjoy."

Tommy laughed. "You never change, Dil. But you know, Dio might not like the song you're going to play for him?"

"Oh, no, he'll like it! Dio is a kind and benevolent father to all his 'rock-n-roll children.'"

Again, Tommy laughed.

And Dil smiled.

"All right, I'll take you there. Then I'm going to take you to a place that reminds me of The Friendly Tap."

"Thanks, T," Dil said, while he maintained his smile.

* * *

At six o'clock the next evening, Kimi was relaxing at home with a glass of wine. She had been invited out for drinks with her co-workers, but she declined. Tomorrow, however, would be an evening of excitement, as Kimi agreed to go clubbing with Lil. _"I hope Lil doesn't drag me all over town,"_ she thought. But her thoughts on tomorrow were cut short, due to a knock at her door.

Kimi sat her wine glass on a coaster, and looked through her door's peephole. No one was present. _"That's odd,"_ she thought.

Kimi opened the door, and to her left was Tommy. Kimi was stunned.

"Hey, Kimberly," said Tommy.

"Since when have you ever called me that?"

"People who realize they've done something wrong always act formal."

Kimi smiled. "And what have you done wrong, Thomas?"

"I acted like a total jerk the last time you saw me."

Kimi maintained her smile. "You could also say that you've been a jerk toward your childhood friends, cousin, and brother—by refusing to answer their messages."

"I answered them today, before I left LA."

"So they know you're back in town?"

Tommy shook his head. "No, only Dil, Mom, and Dad know that I'm back."

Kimi turned to the inside of her apartment, before she returned to Tommy. "Would you like to come in?"

Tommy smiled. "Sure, it gets cold out here at night."

Kimi chuckled, and gestured Tommy to enter. Tommy did so, and Kimi informed him to have a seat on the sofa, while she grabbed her wine glass, and sat next to him.

"I take it you're done with casting?" asked Kimi.

Tommy shook his head. "Not quite. I'm fairly certain who's going to play the role of Nicholas, but I'm not quite as certain about who's going to play the role of Alexandra. Plus there are also the members of the Russian court, the members of the Russian royal family, and the revolutionaries to consider." Tommy smirked. "Although, I do have a guy, who I think would make a great Lenin. He already slightly looks the part."

Kimi smiled. "Why did you come back, Tommy?"

"I came back, because of something someone told me."

"And what was that?" Kimi asked, before she had a sip of her wine.

"This person said that you need to try and compromises to make things work with people that you really care about. It's something that I forgot about, Kimi."

Kimi took another sip. "What do you mean, Tommy?"

"Kimi, I care about you a lot. I always have. You know that I had a crush on you back in high school?"

"Yes, you admitted that."

"And I felt something, when I came home the last time," continued Tommy. "I felt it the night we were at that after-hours party. It's a feeling that I never want to see go away, but I helped kill it, the last time I was here."

Kimi sighed. "That you certainly did."

"And I don't want to kill it. If it's dead, I want to revive it."

Again, Kimi sighed. "It's not dead yet, Tommy. But it's certainly in intensive care."

"Then let me take it off the IVs. Look, Kimi, I want to make something work with you. I don't want to see it end, not like this. You've got your job at the paper, and I've got mine directing film. I know we can make something work."

Kimi took another sip. "And how could we make it work, Tommy?"

"Is there anyway you can work for the paper over the internet?"

"To a certain degree, I can. But at the same time, I need to be here. Our paper isn't like the _Los Angeles Times_ or the _New York Times_."

Tommy nodded. "But you are able to work some over the internet?"

"Yes, Tommy, but like I said, I also need to be here."

Again, Tommy nodded. "I understand, Kimi. Do you think it's possible that we could spend sometime here and sometime in LA? Like sometime during the week, you could fly out to LA, or I could fly here, and on weekends we could choose to stay here or in LA?"

"Wouldn't that get fairly expensive?"

"Not when the frequent flyer miles add up."

Kimi smiled. "Well, Tommy, that might work, but there's only one more question."

"What's that?"

"Where would we stay?"

"In LA, my place—here, I thought we'd stay at your place."

Again, Kimi smiled. "That would probably work Tommy, but there might be a catch."

"And what would that be?"

"If I spend more time at your place, you're paying a portion of my rent."

Tommy laughed. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Once again, Kimi smiled. She turned briefly to her nearly empty wine glass, before she returned to Tommy. "I must be a bad host. Would you like a glass of wine, Tommy?"

"I'd like some wine, but I don't think I want it in a glass."

Kimi laughed. "Then how would you like it? In a mug? In a plastic cup?"

Tommy smiled. "Not quite." He placed a finger to Kimi's lips, and kissed the tip of his finger. "I think I'd like to taste the wine off of your lips."

Kimi giggled. "That can certainly be arranged," she said, before she and Tommy shared a kiss.


	21. Full Circle

**Author's Note**: We have reached chapter 21. The age where most people are allowed to drink legally in the United States. We have also reached the final chapter. Yes, this is the end, beautiful friend, the end. I will point that we are one year in the future, so I can't exactly drop historical facts for 2013, since many of them have not happened as I currently write. Regardless of which, I will have one more message for all of you at the conclusion of this story.

**Always Somewhere**

**Chapter XXI**

Life on Mother Terra is not static. Time does not stand still, as the clock continues to click on. Thanksgiving gives way to Christmas, and Christmas gives way to New Year's Eve. 2012 becomes 2013. The seasons come and go. The clock has now turned to early November 2013—the time of the gang's annual camping trip.

"It's wonderful that you were able to make it this time this year," said Susie.

Angelica, who sat in a 'director's chair' with a Smirnoff Ice, smiled. "Yeah, well, an 'old friend' kind of got in the way last year."

"Have you heard anything from said 'old friend'?"

Angelica laughed. "Would you expect me to, when he knows that the state will come after him, if he tries?"

Johnny, who sat in a chair beside Angelica, chuckled.

Angelica smiled, and secured Johnny's hand. "I should have been here last year, but that's a mute point."

"Who's watching Ian tonight?" asked Lil, while she drank a soda.

"Mom and Dad."

"Has the potty training experiment gone well?"

"So far so good," responded Angelica, before she had a sip of her drink. "I just hope it continues. I'm so sick of diapers."

"You and me both," added Johnny.

Susie chuckled. "Has potty training Austra gone well?"

"So far it's gone well. Her mom and I have had some success, but I wouldn't say that she's out of training pants or diapers just yet."

Angelica smirked. "That's kind of like me and Ian."

"Greetings there, everyone!" came an outside voice.

Angelica, Johnny, Susie, and Lil turned. The voice belonged to Chuckie.

"How is everyone?" added Chuckie.

"Pretty good," responded Angelica. "Johnny and I were talking about the 'wonders' of potty training our kids. Something that you don't have to worry about."

Chuckie laughed. "No, not just yet—although it would certainly make me and Ashley's lives easier."

Lil chuckled. "I take it Ashley's not here?"

"No, she's not. She's at home with the little one."

"How old is he now?" asked Susie.

"Kirk's just a little over three months now."

"Yes, that would make sense," said Lil. "Considering that it was around this time last year that we first heard Ashley was pregnant. By the way, how did you come up with the name 'Kirk'?"

"I didn't think we needed a 'Charles Finster IV.' Plus, Kirkley Andrew Finster is a cool name. Ashley and I both like it."

"Do you have any pictures?" asked Angelica.

Chuckie smiled. "Sure do." Chuckie opened his cellphone, and browsed through his pictures, until he found a great one of his son. Kirk had the red hair of his father, while he inherited the brown eyes of both his parents, but his nose and chin certainly came from his mother.

Angelica smiled. "He's a doll."

Chuckie returned the smile. "Thanks."

"I can certainly see where he got that fiery red hair," added Lil.

Chuckie laughed. "Yes, that does seem to be the 'Finster family trait.'"

"Yo! What's up?" came a voice.

Those present turned. The voice belonged to Phil, who walked hand-in-hand with Rachel.

"How goes it everyone?" added Rachel.

"It goes well," replied Lil. "Are Dil and Dezirae coming?"

"I would imagine. Dezirae was telling me earlier that it was around this time last year that she and Dil went on their first date together."

"That's right," said Lil. "Last year, Dil didn't come, because he had that dinner-date with Dezirae."

"How's the restaurant been going, Phil?" asked Susie.

"So far things have been well. It's been a steady business. I've wanted to try some new specials that I hope will increase business."

"On the subject of business," interjected Angelica, "how have things been for you, Lil?"

Lil sighed. "Not very good—this sports psychology thing just isn't working."

"How come?" asked Chuckie.

"I haven't really been making the kind of money that I'd like."

"Why's that?" asked Angelica. "I would think that being a psychologist would be a fairly well paying job?"

"More than being a chef," added Phil.

Lil smirked. "Not when your list of clients is shrinking." Lil turned to the California sun, which was slowly beginning to set. "I've thought about teaching some at the community college." Lil turned to Chuckie and added, "Think you can help me out, Chuckie?"

"I might be able to do something."

As Chuckie finished his sentence, another voice entered. This voice was different, however; it sang. "'So bring an exorcist, a wizard, and a holy ghost.'" The voice belonged to Dil, who walked hand-in-hand with Dezirae. Dil wore a black trench coat that was closed by the lower button. If a gust of wind appeared, it would cause Dil's coat to flutter like a 'cape'.

Johnny grinned. "Well, look what we have here-the clean-shaven Irish Jesus and his wife, Mary."

"Hey now!" said Dil. "I'm not the 'Irish Jesus'. I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David'. Secondly, a portion of my family is Scottish, not Irish.

Dezirae giggled, before she kissed Dil's cheek, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"What's with the trench coat?" asked Susie. "Are you trying to re-create the 'Trench Coat Mafia'?"

"Trench Coat Mafia?!" said Dil. "What is it with some people? Someone wears a trench coat, and people are naturally scared of him or her from an incident that happened over 14 years ago!" Dil removed Dezirae's hands and his trench coat. He tossed the coat in Susie's direction and asked, "Is it poisonous?"

Susie chuckled. "No, Dil, I don't think it's poisonous. I was just kidding you."

Dil smiled, and secured his coat. "Good," he said. " I sometimes just get worked up, when I hear things like that. I just don't get what some people seem to be so afraid of. Sherlock Holmes wore a coat like this, and no one has a problem reading stories about him. Besides, this coat has many good purposes. It's great against the elements." Dil approached Dezirae, opened his coat, and closed her inside of it. "It's also good for wrapping up cute girls," he added, before he and Dezirae shared a kiss.

The gang smiled.

After his kiss, Dil turned to his cousin. "Anymore news on album sales, Angelica?"

Dark Stairway's _Volume I_ had met with some success, due to internet radio play and uploads on YouTube. The band had received bookings throughout the state—including major cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"No, Dil, I haven't," replied Angelica.

"So we haven't gone gold yet?"

Angelica smirked. "No, Dil, you haven't, but if you do, I'm sure that I'll be the first one to tell you."

"Even before me?" interjected Johnny with a grin.

Angelica smiled. "Well, you might hear about it first."

Johnny returned the smile, before the two shared a kiss.

Dil also smiled at the scene between his cousin and bandmate, until Dezirae motioned him away.

"Dil," Dezirae began, "look at the sky. Isn't it beautiful?"

The sky displayed a bright orange glow, as the sun finally descended. "Perhaps that's Monika Dannemann and Jimi Hendrix burning the sky together," said Dil. But then the sky began to change. The last rays of the sun emitted a purple and golden glow with the orange. "Now it almost looks like a rainbow," added Dil. "Wait! Perhaps it's a message from Dio and the Silver Mountain." Dil extended both his arms and made the headbanger gesture, before he shouted, "Dio! Dio! Dio!"

Dezirae giggled, and in her thoughts, she said, _"I truly do love him."_

Phil, who stood by Chuckie, had a different perspective, while he observed Dil and Dezirae. "I just thought of something."

"What's that?" asked Chuckie.

"Do you remember, when we were kids, how Dil used to think that he talked to aliens, or that they somehow communicated with him?"

Chuckie grinned. "Yeah, I do."

"You don't suppose that Dil thinks that he talks to a dead heavy metal musician, do you?"

Chuckie laughed. "Well, you never know. If Dio is talking to Dil, I guess he's giving him some good advice. I mean, his music career has so far been successful."

"You're not trying to say that Dil talks to ghosts now, are you?" said another voice.

Phil and Chuckie turned. The voice belonged to Tommy, who walked hand-in-hand with Kimi.

"Tommy! Kimi! You made it!" said Chuckie. "I didn't know, if I was going to see you both or not."

"I wanted to try and make it," said Tommy. "I mean, I missed last year. I didn't want to miss this year."

"Did Ashley come with you this year, Chuckie?" asked Kimi.

Chuckie shook his head. "No, she's at home with the baby."

"I need to stop by and see my nephew. He has the cutest fiery-red hair."

Chuckie smiled. "Thanks—Angelica said the same thing."

"Hey there, big brother," interjected Dil, as he approached with Dezirae. "Glad you were able to make it."

Tommy smiled. "I wouldn't miss the chance to hang out with you, little brother." Tommy turned to his brother's girlfriend and added, "Nice to see you too, Dezirae."

"Nice to see you as well, Tommy," said Dezirae.

Again, Tommy smiled. "It's amazing how you've put up with my little brother for so long."

Dil pulled Dezirae close and said, "It's all due to the power of love, Tommy." Dil then tickled Dezirae and kissed her.

Once again, Tommy smiled. _"He truly does love her," _thought Tommy. But verbally, Tommy decided to have some fun with his younger brother. "Tell me, Dil, you haven't been talking to the spirits of any dead metal musicians lately, have you?"

"Dead metal musicians?" Dil responded with a look. "Last time I was on the Silver Mountain, everyone seemed alive and well."

"You were on the Silver Mountain?" asked Tommy.

"Oh, yes! The other evening, when I was sleeping in bed, I had what can only be described as an 'out of body experience.' I felt my soul leave my body, and there I was—right on the Silver Mountain!"

"And what does the Silver Mountain look like?"

"Oh, it's beautiful! There's snow, yet it's never cold. There are plenty of beautiful women around—despite the fact that they can't compete with Dezirae—they're still beautiful."

Dezirae giggled.

And Dil continued. "There's plenty of ice cold beer that constantly flows, and no one ever gets hung-over. Plus, there's weed that people can smoke without the fear of being arrested. It's like being in Holland. But that's not all. I got to have a conversation."

"A conversation with whom?"

"Dio, Jon Lord, and Cozy Powell."

Tommy smirked. "And what did they tell you?"

"Dio thanked me for visiting his earthly remains, and that he always enjoys listening to us play. Jon Lord told me that he really enjoyed the version that we did of 'Child in Time'. And Cozy Powell told me that Johnny is just an awesome drummer, and a good guy for Angelica to be with."

Tommy paused. "Well, that's very interesting, Dil."

Dezirae giggled, while she wrapped her arms around Dil's waist.

But Phil's and Chuckie's observation of the conversation was much different. "Do you think Dil's just bullshitting us, or do you really think that he really believes that he took a trip up to the 'Silver Mountain' and had a conversation with Ronnie James Dio, Jon Lord, and Cozy Powell?" whispered Phil.

"Who knows; it's Dil." whispered Chuckie in response.

"On something that involves the living, but also the dead," began Dil, "how's the movie coming? You're finished with it, right?"

"Yes, it's complete. You should see a trailer for it soon. I'm looking for the film to debut after Christmas."

"What was it like filming in Russia?" asked Chuckie.

"Cold as hell."

"No, that's inappropriate to say," said Dil. "Hell has yet to receive a cold front, ever since Satan fell into it."

Those present laughed, except for Tommy. He gave his younger brother a look and muttered two words. Those words were barely audible, but Dil was able to read Tommy's lips, and could guess what he was saying. The first word began with the letter 'F' and the second with the letter 'Y'. But after Tommy did so, he smiled.

"Were you able to go over to Russia with Tommy, Kimi?" asked Dezirae, who tried to return the conversation to a serious level.

"No, I wasn't," replied Kimi. "I would have loved to, but I wasn't able to get away from work."

"You know, I always wondered about that," interjected Chuckie. "I would have thought that the paper would have enjoyed you doing a story on Tommy's movie."

"A story on Tommy's movie? Yes. Me covering the story? No."

"How come?" asked Phil.

"There was a fear that I wouldn't be impartial. I'm Tommy's boyfriend, so there was the fear that I would be bias. _The Eagle_ isn't like Fox News—we at least try to stay objective."

Those present laughed.

But Phil returned the conversation to a serious level. "Why don't we get back with the others? There's a lot of people, who haven't seen Tommy or Kimi yet."

"Yes," said Kimi. "Let's go!"

* * *

A few hours later, the gang was sitting around a large fire eating, drinking, and telling stories. Occasionally the wind would make itself known, which only added to the presence of fall in Northern California. Of the stories that were told, many related to events of the previous year, but some related to their childhood.

After hearing one childhood story, Tommy stood and said, "You know, everybody, there's just something that I want to say. With the exceptions of Johnny, Rachel, and Dezirae, I've known all of you, since we were basically in diapers. Two of you are my family members. I remember that this camping trip began, when Chuckie was 16. It seemed like back then, we used to have all kinds of free time on our hands, but now all of that has faded away. I have my career, and you guys have your own as well. It just seems like it becomes harder and harder to do things like this, and I hate it."

When Tommy concluded his statement, his childhood friends were silent. They knew he was speaking the truth. Eventually it was Tommy's brother, Dil, who broke the silence.

"I know what you're saying, T.," Dil said, while he stood to join his brother. As he did so, a gust of wind appeared, and Dil's red hair fluttered in it. "We can't do things like we used to. We all have jobs. One of us is married, and two of us have children. But you know what? We'll always be somewhere. We've been with each other for over two decades, and it's hard to break apart a 20-plus year relationship. We'll always be somewhere, Tommy—regardless of whether or not it's the United States, Europe, or Japan. We'll always be somewhere. Just remember that, Tommy."

One chapter in the lives of Tommy Pickles, Dil Pickles, Angelica Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Kimi Finster, Phil DeVille, Lil DeVille, and Susie Carmichael has ended, but another one is about to begin. The curtain has lowered on one chapter, but it is soon to rise again for another chapter.

**The End**

**Author's Note**: As the final paragraph notes, one chapter has ended in the lives of our 'gang'. The curtain has come down, but it will soon rise again. _Always Somewhere_ has ended, but a sequel to it will be written. To those that have any sequel ideas, you are welcome to share them with me. Again, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, or has followed my story to the end. Thank you, guys! It was because of you that I decided to write a sequel.


End file.
